Father's First Curse
by CelestialOrison
Summary: Inuyasha learns a secret about his family only Sesshomaru knows that will change his entire life. What happens when this secret comes back to life? Rated for bloody scenes. InuKag! R&R please! CH 11 FINALLY UP!
1. Awaiting the News

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own anything from the series: Inuyasha, but I do own my character Asaki.

**Ok everyone; please be nice because this is my first fan fiction ever written down! Well, if you don't like what I'm writing go ahead any say what you want because I accept any opinion, as long as they are rational! Please read it and tell me what you think!**

"Sweet little child…Why must he cry?" A soothing voice came to the fearful child, crying into the loathing darkness of his cave.

The child, tears dancing on the brim of amber eyes searched the dark abyss, but no soul could be found. "W-who is there?" He called out, perking up his unusual ears to hear a reply. But the reply did not come from the cave or anywhere around it… Somehow, in some way, it was appearing to come from the abyss of nothingness…

"Dear, sweet child, forget not who I am. I am only here to comfort you. Think of me as your friend. Now, may I ask why you are crying?"

The little child hesitated, hoping it was not an untruthful demon he was befriending. "M-my mother…S-she has passed. I am alone now." He waited for a response, fighting back tears.

"My darling child," her words to him were soothing as an embrace, "Your mother may have passed in life, but she is with you in spirit. I shall also always be with you, if you should ever need someone to talk to. You can call me Asaki."

To one, this day would be a cheerful, warming, sunny afternoon; but to one particular boy, clothed in a red haori, this day would not be so welcoming. Neither to his walks who walked along with him should this day be merry.

Although the sunlight filtered brightly through the trees, and the wind teased the leaves into dancing, the dog-eared boy, the monk, the child fox, the young priestess and the exterminator sustained solemn looks and didn't bother to intake the beautiful scenery of the day as they walked down the road.

"Kagome," the little kitsune quietly asked to the priestess, "When this is all over, will you go back to your own time as usual?"

"Yes, I will," She replied, "Why do you ask Shippo?" Kagome, seeing everyone's emotionless faces, realized that they needed something to temporarily take their minds off the upcoming battle they would soon be approaching.

"'Cuz I was wondering if you would bring us back that stuff you call 'potato chips'!"

This made the young miko smile. She quickly glanced at the young hanyou, striding at a steady pace in front of the group. She knew he was listening to their conversation; his ears could hear things miles away. Plus the fact that he adored the potato chips Kagome would bring back from her time. Kagome glanced at him, hoping to get a reply to keep his mind off of the upcoming battle.

The hanyou turned his head to face the young miko who now had been idly staring at him. He shot her a rancid look and protested. "Do ya have to stare at me all day?" He turned his head, but continued to protest. "You really shouldn't be thinking of food at a time like this, Shippo. Do you know how important this is to me?"

"Of course I know! I'm not as dumb as you think I am Inuyasha!" The fiery kitsune spat back. "I was just trying to lighten the mood a little…"

After the quick squabble, the group fell silent again; once more a solemn, weary, yet agitated look grew upon each face. The silence was almost unbearable to each of them.

The group finally came to a clearing in the woods, where a man stood at the far side of the clearing, his silvery mane dancing in the wind. The man looked almost like an angel from afar, the way the sun glistened on his long silver hair, giving an almost inhuman iridescence.

Everyone in the group recognized the man on the other side of the clearing almost immediately. Kagome, with Shippo in her arms stepped back, while the monk Miroku, the demon slayer Sango, and Inuyasha stepped closer to the man.

The whole area of the woods was dead silent but for the wind that brought gray clouds over the ambient blue skies overhead.

"Sesshomaru…" Inuyasha said, almost in a growl. His right hand edging towards the handle of his infamous sword; a sword to which Inuyasha knew this man had wanted for so long. Was Sesshomaru planning to try and steal his precious Tetusaiga once more? What were his intentions to call him out here? This was most definitely not like the Sesshomaru he knew…

"Little brother, we meet again…" The man said in a calm, but cold voice. His pale face remained emotionless, but closer one could see his amber eyes flashed with slight amusement and anger. His iridescence was chilling.

"Get to the point Sesshomaru," Inuyasha shot him a nasty look, edging closer to him, "What is your purpose of calling me out here?" His clawed hand stroked the handle of his sword as he waited for a response.

"Purpose? No, no little brother, I haven't come to steal your Tetusaiga as you are probably thinking." A malevolent grin spread across his face.

"Then what the hell do you want!" There was no response. Inuyasha was getting annoyed quickly. He was itching for a fight, yet Sesshomaru wasn't moving from the spot to which he stood.

Inuyasha couldn't take this anymore. In an instant, he unsheathed his beloved sword and pointed it in Sesshomaru's direction. "Either you tell me what's goin' on Sesshomaru, or I'll hack you to bits!"

Sesshomaru gave an almost inaudible chuckle in the back of his throat, "You think you can kill me Inuyasha? If you kill me, you won't ever know what information I am so willing to tell you right now…"

Miroku looked at Sango, Sango looked at Miroku; both had looks of confusion and suspicion. "Is he trying to play head games?" The monk asked.

Sango shrugged, "Probably, but he's saying something about information…I bet it's probably a trick to get the Tetsusaiga or kill Inuyasha."

Inuyasha growled, tightening his grip on his sword. "Stop messin' around Sesshomaru and tell me what you brought me here for!"

"You want to know Inuyasha? Tell me that you want to know and I will tell you..." Sesshomaru's expressionless face grinned. "I want to hear you say it."

"YES I WANT TO KNOW! Dammit tell me!"

**Well this is my first chapter! Let me know what you think… I'll be putting up the next chapter by the end of next week!**


	2. Chapter Two: Sesshomaru's Proposition

Chapter Two: Sesshomaru's Proposition

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything of Inuyasha. All rights reserved to Rumiko Takahashi. But, I do own my own created character Asaki.

**Well tohru-honda14 thanks so much for your nice review! I'm still waiting for more reviews from the fist chapter. But I found a mistake in the first chapter: There is a flashback for the first paragraph and it didn't indent on a new paragraph to the present date for the story, so it might look a bit confusing. Sorry about that! My computer is being stupid and won't let me fix it! Oh well, read and review please! Love you all and thanx! –My Last Farewell (aka Emily)**

"All right then Inuyasha, if you're about to grovel I guess I will tell you the bit of information that I have that concerns you and I, and you will understand why I am unable at the present moment why I'm unable to kill you or your friends." Sesshomaru stepped closer to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha stared at his brother in surprise. He said he wouldn't kill them! Was it a trick? Inuyasha, although still convinced Sesshomaru had something wicked as usual up his sleeve, he withdrew his sword from his sight and put the Tetsusaiga back into his sheath. "Go on, I'm listening." Inuyasha stated simply, watching his rivaled brother closely.

"It was only recently when I realized that there will be a lunar eclipse tonight… You see, there is someone of our inherited bloodline who at the moment is trapped into dormancy, but can only be revived during a lunar eclipse…"

Sesshomaru's words seemed to Inuyasha either misleading and untruthful, or strange and confusing. "What the hell are you rambling on about Sesshomaru? You and I are the only ones left from our bloodline….Unless you're talking about father!" Inuyasha looked at his now impatient brother with suspicious eyes.

"No you idiot, father is dead! And you're also wrong about us being the only ones left from our heritage." Sesshomaru waited eagerly to get a confused response from Inuyasha, while retaining an emotionless face.

Kagome, who was listening intently the whole time, understood what he meant immediately. Kagome attempted to recollect anything from the past that would signify what Sesshomaru was saying, but there was no way Inuyasha could have another brother or sister! Myouga or Toutousai would have said something about another family member.

"What are you getting at?" Inuyasha growled, bewildered. He quickly looked back at Sango, then at Miroku, and then at Kagome. Each one of them returned him with a confused stare. Inuyasha turned back to his brother who still remained as emotionless as if he were carved out of stone. He shot him a suspicious gaze. "If it's not father you are about to resurrect, who else from our family is left? We have no other brothers or sisters…"

"Ah little brother, that is where you are wrong and I hardly blame you. Asaki was sealed away long before you were born of your wretched mother. In fact, I was barely the age of your little kitsune friend when she was sealed by our own father dearest." There was silence in the woods, except for the rumbling of nearby thunder clouds, threatening to rain on their meeting in the deep woods.

"W-what! You mean…" Inuyasha's amber eyes widened as he gaped at his blood brother.

"Must I spell it out for you Inuyasha? Oh yes, that is right… A hanyou's mind is so much slower than a full demon's. Fine I shall tell you simply. We have an older sister. Her name is Asaki." Sesshomaru smirked at his brother who stood there as if he got slapped across the face. The hanyou looked so dumbfounded. "That is not all of the information I have to tell you Inuyasha, although I'm certain it must be hard for your little half-breed mind to process all of this information…I have a proposition for you."

Inuyasha felt his temper rising. How dare Sesshomaru, his own brother belittle him in front of his friends with such insulting words. Inuyasha began to doubt him immediately, despite the fact he could sense no lies in his words. "Why should I fulfill your proposition if you're only going to call me a half breed?" He growled wryly, crossing his arms, "Maybe I have better things to do than help you with this 'proposition'!"

Sesshomaru frowned discontently. This was the most emotion he had shown the whole time he had appeared. Sesshomaru shot evil eyes at Inuyasha.

"Step back Sango, things are going to get a bit ugly," Miroku warned the demon slayer beside him, "His aura is changing. It's becoming more ominous. I think Inuyasha may have upset him a little too much."

"I have promised I will not kill you Inuyasha, if our sister was to resurrect, she would have my own head for killing you, but that doesn't mean I'll break you to follow through with my intended plans. And for that, I need a little cooperation." Sesshomaru flexed his claws out in Inuyasha's direction, but gave no effect to Inuyasha's current mood.

With arms still crossed, Inuyasha grunted slightly. "Fine, at least tell me what you want me for and I might cooperate." There was silence for a moment or two. Miroku noticed his demonic aura was going down slightly. He gave a much needed sigh of relief.

Miroku, Sango, Kagome and Shippo all knew that every time the two brothers crossed paths, they tried to rip one another's hearts out. This time looked like no exception until now. Seeing the two brothers, ready to pounce on one another caused the jewel-seeking group to hold their breath and become tenser. They weren't about to see their good friend get ripped to shreds, and they would make sure of that.

Sango tightly gripped her overly-large weapon and intensified her gaze on Sesshomaru. "What do you think he is going to ask?" she asked the hoshi, without taking her eyes off the pair.

Miroku narrowed his eyes. "What ever he is going to ask, cannot be good for Inuyasha at all." Silence filled the woods once more, but the icy stares emanation from one to another was noise enough for them to become weary.

Finally, with a sense of satisfaction that Inuyasha would cooperate, Sesshomaru spoke. "Since tonight is the night the moon will go into an eclipse, it is the only night I would be able to resurrect Asaki from the enchantment that has taken hold of her for more than 200 years now. If I do not succeed tonight, I won't have the chance to free her until the next lunar eclipse, in approximately 20 years. I' afraid by then, it would be too late for her by the next lunar eclipse.

"So Inuyasha, all I ask of you to help free our dearest sister is a little something from you. I do not ask that you come and help me. What do you say?"

Inuyasha's eyebrow rose. "Need? What do you need from me?"

Sesshomaru chuckled in his throat so low, only Inuyasha could hear it. "You won't like this; I need but two drops of naught but your blood and one of your hairs. That is all." Sesshomaru waited for a response. Inuyasha stared blankly at him.

"Two drops of blood and a hair? Is this some kind of scavenger hunt? Why not just kill me?" Inuyasha asked inquisitively.

"Waste not, want not; right little brother? Besides, Asaki would not forgive me if I was to kill you before she got the chance to see you." There was a small silence as Sesshomaru tried to remember something. "Oh yes that is right, she told she had met you when you were a little child. Would you happen to remember?"

Inuyasha grew more and more confused by every word that came from Sesshomaru's mouth. Inuyasha tried recollecting his memories for a possible female dog demon he had met in his early child hood. Then it dawned on him.

"Asaki…well, I never really met her, she came to me in my dreams somehow…But I thought she was someone I made up in my head! Hey wait a sec… How could I have met her if she was and still is sealed? That's impossible!" Inuyasha racked his brain for a possible logical answer, but his brother answered him first.

"Just because Asaki's body was sealed doesn't mean her mind was also. You would be amazed at the powers she had inherited from father. And like I stated earlier, I also talk to her in my sleep. Her spirit since the day of her sealment dwells in the world of dreams. But what say you? Will you help me and pay your two drops of blood and a hair so I can resurrect Asaki?" Inuyasha didn't know what to do. Should he give him his blood and hair? What would he do with them?

"What will you do with them, Sesshomaru?" He gazed at his brother intently.

"To free Asaki from her bondage, the same flesh and blood from the one who sealed her must be used in the process of freeing her. Since father is not around, I have tried using my blood and flesh to free her from her bondages, but mine alone is not enough. That is why I need yours as well."

It seemed reasonable enough to Inuyasha, yet somehow still suspicious. Nevertheless, he unsheathed the Tetusaiga and sliced his palm slightly as it began to bleed. The scent of his blood filled his nose, almost making him sneeze. He let two drops of blood fall onto a white kerchief that Kagome had given him earlier. He put his precious sword back into its sheath and picked a silvery hair from his head and into the kerchief as well. He presented it to Sesshomaru by throwing the kerchief at Sesshomaru's feet.

Sesshomaru smiled malevolently, yet satisfied. "Much obliged brother dearest. You'll hear from me if all goes well." With that, he picked up the small textile which held his brother's flesh and blood and turned his back to leave.

Almost instantly, a question dawned upon Inuyasha's mind. "Hey wait Sesshomaru! I have one more question for you!" Sesshomaru stopped and turned his head slightly. He did not answer.

Knowing he had caught his brother's attention, Inuyasha feverishly asked him, "How come father was the one that sealed Asaki? What was his purpose?" Sesshomaru didn't react to the question instantly. He merely turned his head and began to walk back again.

"I'm not the one who should be telling you that. Ask Asaki when you get the chance," was all he said, disappearing into the thick brush of the woods.

"Wait!" Inuyasha persisted, but Sesshomaru was gone. The woods was quiet. The heavy thunder clouds began to pour its mass down upon Inuyasha and his friends. None of them knew what to say their half-demon friend now, but they each had a good sigh of relief that there was no caused trouble that day.

Kagome grew worried as she fixed her gaze onto the now sulking, silver-haired boy in front of her. "I wonder what he will do now, now that he has a sister," She thought aloud to Shippo, who remained closer in her arms, "More importantly, how could all of this been hidden from Inuyasha for so long? How did Myouga or Toutousai not know? Or do they know?"

Shippo shrugged. "I bet there's so many questions on his mind right now," Shippo said solemnly. This was the first time the little kitsune had ever felt so badly for his short-tempered friend. "You should go and talk to him, Kagome."

Kagome nodded, not taking her bright brown eyes off the hanyou. She put Shippo in Sango's care temporarily and walked over to Inuyasha. Sango and Miroku knew that was a sign for them to be left alone, so they took Shippo and hopped onto Kilala's transformed back.

"We'll meet you at Kaede's hut Kagome." Sango said, smiling at Kagome. Kagome returned the smile, but then fixed her gaze once more upon the silent boy. Sango told Kilala to go, and off they went into the dark sky, dotted with rain drops.

Kagome, finding an umbrella from her back pack laid on the trunk of a tree, went over and sat on the wet ground by Inuyasha, who was now sitting. Kagome opened the umbrella and placed it over Inuyasha's and her head.

"You're going to catch a cold out in the rain, Inuyasha…" Kagome told him concerned. He didn't even respond with a grunt as he usually did. She become more concerned.

Kagome studied his solemn face. The look of a long, deep depression consumed his beautiful amber eyes. Kagome knew he was thinking of his past, and she knew how hard it was for him. She remained silent, in hopes the boy would open up to her.

Inuyasha lowered his head. There were so many things swimming around his mind that he barely noticed Kagome there, until she spoke again, "How are you Inuyasha?" She placed a pale, soft hand on his knee.

Inuyasha was slow to reply. "Fine," he grunted, trying to keep a brave face for Kagome, but she could see right through the mask he was trying to put up.

"Don't kid yourself Inuyasha." She said, her tone had seriousness and concern in it.

Inuyasha was silent. Just hr presence right there, her scent, soothed his depressions, yet never took them away completely. She had always been there for hi, and this gloomy day was no exception.

"What I just don't get," he finally said, not looking at her, "Was why she was kept secret from me. My childhood could've been so much better If I had known I had a sister.." Kagome was surprised he had finally opened up to her. She smiled sadly at him, tears dancing on the brim of her eyes.

Inuyasha looked her, astonished. "Why are you crying Kagome?" He placed his hand on top of hers. He felt she was getting cold from the rain. They were both soaked by the hard-pouring rain.

"I just care about you Inuyasha, that's all." Kagome smiled for him. Inuyasha grabbed her other hand and gave her a swift hug. Kagome, half surprised returned the hug. Inuyasha felt her shivering underneath his body.

"You should get back to Kaede's hut, before _you_ catch a cold." Inuyasha pulled her away, and brought her to her feet.

"You're coming too, aren't you?" She asked worried. Inuyasha lowered his head again. His silver hair was sticking to his face, and his red haori was as soaked as if he dove into a lake. Kagome was just as wet.

After a long pause, he told her quietly, "I need to think things over a bit by myself." He turned the other direction from Kagome, and paused again. "Kagome?"

"Yes Inuyasha?"

"Thank you…"

Well, there you go, my second chapter! I hope it's a bit longer than the first one! I'm doing this instead of finishing my drama homework! Hahaha… Oh well this is much more fun than any drama homework! (Yuck) Ok, well please read and review like I stated earlier, and if you have questions or concerns, ask me please! My next chapter should be up soon, and I'm about to start another story about Kagome and her father! O0o0o0o! Haha! By the way, if you have any flames, I accept 'em also! I love reviews! Thanks Tohru-honda14 and Azmidsike for your great reviews! Love you all!

Until next time,

MyLastFarewell (aka Emily)


	3. Chapter Three: Past Unsolved Tragedies

**Disclaimer:** Damn you lawyers making me feel bad about how I don't own anything of Inuyasha, and that Rumiko Takahashi does! sob Oh well, at least I own Asaki! Muahahaha!

**Thank you, thank you thank you thank you! Thank you: Trallgorda, JGK200, Azmidiske and Tohru-honda14 for your reviews! I love you pplz! Ok, so 4 reviews aren't the achievement of the year academy award, but it means a lot to me! Here's chapter three everyone, and PLEASE keep writing reviews! I love them all (even flames!)**

Chapter Three: Past Unsolved Tragedies 

"Kagome, where is Inuyasha?" the elderly miko asked.

Kagome sighed. "I don't know. He said he wanted to think things over by himself, but I don't know for how long or where."

It was now evening in Kaede, the elderly miko's village. The pouring rain had finally subsided and the sky was clear. Twilight painted the sky with luminous autumn colours. Some stars in the sky began to twinkle amidst the reds, golds and blues spread across the heavens. The woods where Inuyasha had last been seen was naught but an ominous shadow against the beautiful scenery.

Kagome in a deep depression waited outside the hut by a small fire, waiting for Inuyasha. Hopefully he would come back tonight. Kagome never took her eyes off the darkened woods in front of her.

Sango and Miroku exchanged looks of worry. They were watching Kagome from inside the elderly miko's hut. They were almost certain it was hopeless to wait for Inuyasha because he told no one when he would return. But nevertheless, they joined the young miko outside.

"Any sign of him yet?" Sango asked Kagome half-heartedly, sitting down next to her. Kagome looked down at her shoes and shook her head. "I'm worried about him." Was all she said.

"The only thing I want to know," Miroku thought aloud, rubbing his chin and staring into the fire deep in thought, "Is why would Inuyasha's own father seal away his first child? From what I've heard about his father is that he was a kind, noble and respected demon. Something is not right here."

"Maybe Asaki was an evil demon, and that's why Sesshomaru wants to resurrect her!" Sango replied after a few moments of thought.

"No, if that were true, Inuyasha's father would've probably sealed Sesshomaru away as well." Kagome said. Miroku went back to intensified thinking and rubbing his chin.

Sango was about to say something to cheer Kagome up, when she noticed a prickly twinge on the side of her neck. She slapped it at once, and a flattened, overly-large flea fell off her and into her hand.

"Oww… Nice to see you too Sango…" the flea twinged. Instantly the flea stood up and brushed himself off in dismay.

"Myouga! How nice of you to join us," the monk teased, "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Myouga hesitated. "If you were wondering where I was, I was merely-"

"No not that," the monk cut in. The little flea heaved a sigh of relief and sat down by the fire closer to Miroku.

"Ok Miroku, what would you like to know?" The flea said in a more cheery tone.

"Myouga, how come you nor Toutousai never mentioned to us or Inuyasha about his father ever having a third child?" Miroku waited for a response.

The flea looked at Miroku as if he were talking ludicrous. He stared blankly at Miroku and the others for a moment and then said, "I don't think I understand your question completely Miroku…"

"Sesshomaru just told Inuyasha today about their older sister Asaki! Why didn't you mention it to us?" Sango persisted. Myouga looked even more bewildered than before.

"Older sister? Asaki! I've never heard tell of a daughter of Inu-Taisho-sama!" Thinking they were joking, he waited for them to tell him, but they too gave confused looks.

"If you don't know about Asaki, then probably Toutousai wouldn't know either," Miroku thought aloud yet again, "If Asaki is truly real, why he hide a demon from everyone but Sesshomaru?"

-

_flash back _

"There, I've killed the evil lord of the castle and freed you Asaki!" Exclaimed the gleeful little boy. He held his wooden sword up high in make-believe victory.

Asaki, who was sitting down at a favourite spot of hers and her little brother's in the glade of a forest, and was pretending to be a princess in distress for him. She laughed in amusement.

"Hail the mighty Sesshomaru!" She exclaimed, playing along with the little boy, "Lord of all Japan!" Sesshomaru basked in the make-believe glory and pretended to kill another demon with his wooden samurai sword.

Asaki pretended to bow to her little brother, but stopped in the middle, staring idly at her beloved little brother. She noticed how the markings on his face were beginning to form: a sign of him growing up to be a great demon. She envied those markings and realized hers would never form on her own face. She was not as great a demon as he, despite the fact he was still a child, and Asaki was in her late teen years.

Sesshomaru who saw his sister staring into space, stopped pretending to fight off the evil demon. "What is the matter, Asaki?" He asked, wide-eyed.

Asaki snapped back into the real world and smiled. "Oh nothing Sesshomaru. I'm just thinking of how great a demon lord you will be one day!"

"Really? You truly think so Asaki?" Sesshomaru's round amber eyes lit up with delight. Asaki nodded. Once again, the little child was caught in his dream world and he practiced with his wooden sword once more.

Watching her little brother idly once more, Asaki smelt a familiar scent coming their way. She turned to see a man in heavy plates of armour, with two swords around his belt. His silvery hair was tied up in a messy ponytail behind him, and purple markings that signified a dog demon protruded from his face. His eyes had a slight melancholy look, but the rest of his face remained emotionless.

Asaki, who immediately realized who it was, stood up and bowed to him. "Hello father," she said as she bowed. He did not bow back.

Sesshomaru followed his sister's role and bowed too. His father also did not bow back. He stood there for a moment, before putting a hand on Sesshomaru's tiny shoulder.

"Sesshomaru, it's time to play somewhere else for a while," His deep, booming voice instructed, "I must talk with Asaki alone." Sesshomaru immediately obeyed his father, bowing before he left.

"We can play castles another time," Asaki told him reassuringly as he left. Sesshomaru nodded and ran back into the forest. He was about to go back to their own castle, before curiosity got the better of him. Sesshomaru decided he would pretend to be a ninja spy, and he would spy on his older sister Asaki and his father.

Sesshomaru crept silently behind a bush, where he could see his Sister and father, but could barely hear them. He saw his sister sit back down on the ground and hold her face in her hands, as his father put his strong hand on her frail shoulder. He could smell the salty scent of Asaki's tears. Why was she crying?

Sesshomaru didn't realize until then how small and frail she looked. She was very different from himself and his father. Her silvery hair was still shiny and beautiful, but it was wispy and delicate. She had no demon markings on her face, although she was indeed a full dog demon. And she looked so thin…

Sesshomaru saw his father kneel down by Asaki and embrace her tightly. What was happening? He saw Asaki nod, and with that his father stood up and towered over her once more. What Sesshomaru saw next was about to scar him for life.

He saw his father unsheathe both his swords: Tenseiga, and Tetsusaiga, and pointed them towards Asaki. Asaki holding her eyes away in fear, began to shiver. His father did too, although keeping his swords steady. Sesshomaru smelt the scent of his father's tears, as well as Asaki's! Was he going to kill her? Sesshomaru was unable to take his eyes off the sight. He remained wide eyed and watched every agonizing second.

Finally, with one swing of each of his father's swords, there was a flashing light that blinded Sesshomaru temporarily, followed by a bloodcurdling scream that he recognized was coming from Asaki…

_End Flashback_

-

"How much farther m'lord?" An exhausted toad-like imp asked his master in front of him. The tiny imp was carrying the most peculiar staff in one hand, and a leash for a two headed horse-dragon beast in the other. On top of the beast was a small, sleeping child.

"Be quiet Jaken," his master said hastily in a quiet voice, "You will awaken Rin." The small group was walking along a deserted path at the valley of a mountain. The night was clear and starry. The moon had not yet hid in the shadow of the earth, but the group knew it would be soon.

"I'm sorry lord Sesshomaru, it's just that I am exhausted." Jaken panted behind Sesshomaru.

"Be patient Jaken, I see it up ahead." Sesshomaru was slightly amused at his servant's remarks, but kept a firm, determined look on his face.

Sesshomaru led the group to a small, overgrown rock cave at the foot of the mountain. He knew this was the exact cave. "This is the one." He said quietly.

At the mouth of the cave, a blue force field emanated from the rock walls, disallowing any intruders into the cave.

"In this exact cave," Sesshomaru sated, "Lies my sister in an eternal sleep."

**So far, this is the longest chapter I've written! I'm quite pleased with my story so far, but I hope it'll give me more practice in my linguistic and literary skills (and hopefully a better mark in English, eh? Ha-ha) Sorry I have to keep leaving you all on cliff hangers, but I gotta have some way to make you all keep reading! Muahaha, I'm so evil. Oh well, I'm so glad people like my story so far! I use to make this story up in my head before I went to sleep for months before writing it down! The next chapter will be up soon because I've been so motivated lately! It'll explain some foreshadows I put in earlier, so make sure you read it carefully! Review please and ask me questions if you have them! **

**Love you all!**

**Mylastfarewell (aka Emily)**


	4. Chapter Four: Lost Inheritance

**Disclaimer:** It's not fair that Rumiko Takahashi owns everything in Inuyasha, and I only own my Asaki character!

**I have been so busy writing this one story! I uploaded those last two chapters in a total of five hours! Pretty impressive, eh? Well before I even had this account for I had already made up this entire story and revised it… and the whole time never kept it on paper! Since it'll be March break next week for me, I will neglect my English essay, and instead be on this very site writing more fanfics! This is much more fun! And my English teacher can't complain because I'm "Stretching my linguistics, literary _and_ vocabulary skills" with people to correct it for me! Why can't Ms. Manser mark my fanfics! Ok, enough of me. I'm sorry that I never talked about Inuyasha the whole last chapter. He will be mentioned a bit in this chapter, but the main angle I want to get to at the moment is the relationship between Asaki and Sesshomaru as siblings. Inuyasha will be the next main conflict and angle of view after this chapter I believe. Soo… without further adue, here is the fourth chapter of my first ever fanfic! **

Chapter Four: Lost Inheritance

Sesshomaru took the handkerchief holding Inuyasha's blood and hair and surveyed the current stage of the moon.

The iridescent jewel that hung on black velvet, high in the heavens was slowly beginning to disappear. The top left of the lunar jewel was already hidden beneath the shadow of the earth.

"_I don't have much time,"_ Sesshomaru thought, narrowing his eyes at the moon. Time was a factor now, and he did not have time to waste. He felt a small knot in his throat form; he knew if he didn't succeed tonight, his sister would never be able to be freed from her entrapments. He quickly turned to Rin and Jaken.

"Jaken, watch Rin. I will be going inside alone," he stated firmly. Jaken gave a quick, eager nod, and Sesshomaru swiftly moved to the mouth of the cave, where he stopped at the bluish barrier.

Sesshomaru put his hand up to the barrier to feel it. The warning tingling feeling told him that the barrier would not let him enter. He took his hand down before it began to ward him off even more.

"Asaki, it is I, Sesshomaru," He called out to the cave, "Give me entrance. I can set you free this time." Sesshomaru waited. Nothing happened.

Although Asaki was indeed trapped in the dream world, her spirit could reconnect to the real dimension and listen to people's thoughts, and talk to them. Sesshomaru knew this, yet his feeble attempts for her mind to remove the barrier had failed.

Sesshomaru was getting impatient, "Asaki, give me entrance into this cave! Do not make me cross." The barrier hadn't even waned for a flicker of a moment. "Cease with your stubbornness sister and let me help you!" He began to raise his voice. After a few minutes of trying to get into the cave, he wondered if his sister wanted to be freed at all.

In a moment of frustration, Sesshomaru turned his back on the cave, and looked at the moon. The moon was already almost half gone with the eclipse! He didn't realize how much time he had already wasted, but he couldn't get through the barrier.

"Fine then, Asaki have it your way," Sesshomaru muttered behind gritted teeth, "I was only trying to help you. Not for myself." Sesshomaru was about to walk away, when he heard a strange sound coming from the cave. He pivoted quickly on his foot, to see that the barrier had disappeared!

Without wasting a second on his triumphant success, he clutched the handkerchief and ran quickly into the cave with demonic speed. He had been through this tunnel many times before on nights of an eclipse, trying to set her free without success. He knew the tunnel would be long, and there was no time to walk.

Sesshomaru ran through the endless, darkened cave, swiftly dodging hidden boulders, rises in the path and dripping stalactites that he remembered bumping into before only too well. Finally after a few seconds that seemed like an eternity to Sesshomaru, he saw a faint, distant light coming closer and closer. With one final jump, Sesshomaru skidded into a large, temple-like room that looked too elegant to be carved into such an overgrown, slimy cave.

The room was carved out of sparkling rocks. On one side of the wall, carved into it was an elaborate dragon. Another side of the wall had the carving of a great dog demon, who he recognized as his very own father. The ceiling of the cave was smooth and stalactite free, except for a small hole where the moonlight shone through. This temple looked very old indeed. The walls were slimy, and carvings in the walls were slowly eroding away. At the end of the temple, Sesshomaru saw an altar, with a white silhouette gleaming on top of it. He instantly knew who it was: Asaki.

Sesshomaru strode over to the altar and placed the handkerchief with Inuyasha's blood and hair in it on the prayed table below the altar. Then, he stood up to take one last glance at his sister before he would free her.

Now that Sesshomaru had grown up, and it had been over 300 hundred years since Asaki was alive in the real world. Sesshomaru had now looked older than his even older sibling. He couldn't help but think how pale and thin she was. Her silvery hair was the same as he remembered it: wavy, wispy strands that always appeared to dance gracefully in the wind. Her face was pale, but flawless as an angel's. Strangely though, she had no demonic markings upon her face. Asaki never wore a kimono, or any type of Japanese women's clothing in fact. Instead she wore a flowing, white silk dress that was bejeweled with small blue embroidered blossoms.

Sesshomaru, knowing he was wasting even more time gave one last glance and sat down by the prayer table. He picked a hair from his head and set it on the table. Next, he took out his sword Toukijin, and pricked the palm of his hand, letting two drops fall unto the prayer table.

"_This is my last chance for her redemption,"_ he thought, _"It has to work this time…"_

Inuyasha sat by his solitary self, atop a tall fir tree. Deep in his depression, he stared at the moon. It as almost completely hidden beneath the shadow of the earth. Only a little silver sliver of the moon was left.

Inuyasha knew Sesshomaru wasn't lying about his sister; he saw no lie in his eyes. But he still didn't understand why she had been hidden from him his entire life! What secrets of the past caused her to be sealed forever lie he was once before? Compared to his sister, the time he spent dormant was but a light sleep!

Inuyasha sighed helplessly. He wondered if he'd even meet Asaki. Would Sesshomaru's plan work? He had never even seen his older sister before! But that's when he remembered, he had talked to her before. Long ago, right after his mother had passed away; she was the one he could talk to.

Inuyasha remembered a voice coming out from nowhere talking to him, soothing him, and helping him little by little through his tormented childhood. Even though he had someone he could talk to and not feel alone, a voice could only go so far. To have a real person with him so he could feel loved and like he belonged regretfully could have changed him completely.

So many unanswered questions swam through his mind. Eventually he found himself emotionally and physically tired. _"Kagome must be worried about me right now, but she has to understand I want to be alone right now."_ He thought to himself. _"I'll return in the morning."_ Slowly, Inuyasha's amber eyes sunk lower, until finally, with one last look at the moon, fell into a dreamless sleep.

flashback

"Asaki? Are you there?" A frightened little boy called out to a familiar entity.

"I am here Inuyasha," the smooth, calming voice replied, "What is the matter? You seem frightened…"

Inuyasha gave a small sniff and wiped his tears, "Tonight is the night of the new moon. I am alone in the cave. These human eyes won't let me see anything…" The little child hugged his knees tightly and began to rock back and forth.

"Dearest child, please don't be afraid. You are safe in this cave. Are you tired Inuyasha?" Inuyasha gave a small nod and a grunt.

"But Asaki, I'm too scared to fall asleep! What if a demon comes?" Inuyasha persisted.

"Hush child. You need not worry. I will make sure no one comes in the cave, and I'll let you have pleasant dreams if you wish…" The black haired Inuyasha calmed down a little.

"Do you promise Asaki?" He asked, beginning to lie down.

"I promise Inuyasha. You need your sleep. I promise I will not let anything happen to you. I'm always with you if you need me." Her soothing voice lulled the tired boy to sleep rather quickly.

End Flashback

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Sesshomaru waited in silence, watching the motionless figure in front of him. Both his and Inuyasha's blood had been sacrificed and he had completed the ceremony. Sesshomaru looked through the hole in the ceiling. The moon was completely gone! It was now or never. Was Asaki going to resurface from the abyss of dreams, or would she forever be trapped to an eternal sleep?

**Muahahaha! Yet another suspenseful cliff hanger! OMG, OMG, OMG! 8 Replies! I love you all! Every single one of you are my heroes! You all are so nice! Keep replying and ask questions if you want! Don't worry Inu-Shinta, this chapter will show you if she is truly evil or good. Like I said in the last chapter, pay close attention to any foreshadowing you suspect… It may come back to reveal something about the demon family later on! I will most likely update by the day after tomorrow, because I have a whole week to do nothing (except an essay. But screw essays! This is much more fun!). Nothing more exciting or important to tell you right now, so until next update!**

**-MyLast Farewell (aka Emily)**


	5. Chapter Five: A Long Awaited Reunion

**Disclaimer:** Must I keep repeating myself? sigh Fine…Rumiko Takahashi owns all Inuyasha things and I own none but Asaki who I made up myself. sob the truth really hurts!

**You don't know how pleased I am to seeELEVEN reviews! And not a one of them are flames or even belittling! Thank you all so much: Crazy Tengu, JGK200, Lelyn Black,Inu-Shinta, trallgorda, Azmidiske, and Tohru-Honda14! I'm repeating them all, but I love you all! If I could give you all a virtual hug, this would be it! So chapter five is dedicated to all that I mentioned! Please keep on reviewing!****Sorry that my last chapter was kind of rushed, I hope I got most of the important points through so youunderstood! I'll take a bit more time with this one! So here you go, and enjoy! –Emily (Mylastfarewell)

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Chapter Five: A Long Awaited Reunion

Sesshomaru stood up quickly, almost toppling the prayer table over. His heart was racing and beating at an inhuman speed. It couldn't be possible! Why wasn't his procedure working?

Asaki still lie on the altar in front of him, motionless. For the first time in Sesshomaru's life, he felt tears trying to burst out of him! His hands began to tremble. Sesshomaru's once emotionless face was stricken with astounded fear and sadness. He felt as though he wanted to rip his own heart out for not succeeding to free his beloved sister. He had tried every 20 years for a total of 300 years to try and rescue her, but he did not even get close to freeing her once.

Desperately trying to fight back tears, he staggered towards the still motionless, pale figure. Sesshomaru picked up her death-cold hands in his trembling fingers, and knelt down. Turning his head away from her, not being able to stand seeing her anymore, he whispered over trembling lips, "I-I am sorry Asaki. I've f-failed you."

Sesshomaru couldn't stand it any longer. He couldn't hold back the tears, as they began to swell on the corners of his eyes.

Suddenly, in the quietness of the cave, a hoarse, sharp intake of breath echoed off the rock walls. Sesshomaru's head shot up quickly and searched for the disturber of his peace. It took him a few seconds to realize what he was seeing, but the motionless figure on the altar was now squirming around, struggling to breathe.

Without a second to spare, Sesshomaru stood up and helped the struggling figure sit up so she could breathe easier. Amidst the coughing and gasping for breath, he stared at her in amazement. It really did work! Asaki had been given one more chance at life! Overwhelmed with emotions and thoughts, he couldn't find room to speak. All Sesshomaru could do at the current time was kneel beside his sister and wait for her breathing to become easier and calmed. There were not words to describe the sense of completion he had, knowing that a struggle over 300 years was finally over, and that he had his sister to be by his side once again. Sesshomaru, ever since he was a little boy knew his sister would need someone to protect for from certain demises, and even now he wanted to be the one who would always be there for her; just as she was always there for him.

After a few moments, Asaki's breathing became more evened and less hoarse. Her eyes began to flutter as she pried her eyes open for the first time. Sesshomaru watched her intently. She had the same golden-amber eyes that appeared to glow in the dark, although hers seemed to have more of a deep, mystic atmosphere to hers. How he had missed those sincere eyes. They wandered the ceiling, and around the carved-out temple and eventually landed onto Sesshomaru's very eyes. And for the first time in 300 years, she spoke.

"Is…That you Sesshomaru?" Her soft, soothing voice asked to the man holding her. Sesshomaru still couldn't find it in himself to speak. All he managed was a curt nod. There was silence in the cave once more. Although he could sometimes hear her in his mind when she talked to him in his dreams, he missed the words that came directly from her mouth.

Asaki smiled and looked around the room once more. She sat up completely, leaving the safety of her brother's arms. She watched his face with fascination. "You have grown up so much Sesshomaru," She told him in amazement, "You really have grown into a great demon lord!" Sesshomaru saw her eyeing his demon markings. He smiled vaguely. He knew she had always wanted to bear the markings of a great demon, yet never did.

"I apologize for not rescuing you for so long. I have attempted and fail until now," Sesshomaru was finally able to say. Asaki smiled.

"It was not your fault Sesshomaru, even though you think it might be. You should not be sorry." Asaki thought for a moment. "So… is it true that father is really dead?" Sesshomaru nodded. Asaki bowed her head for a brief moment in reflection. She had heard in the dream world he had passed, but she didn't want to believe it.

After a moment, she spoke again, "Where might the littlest brother be?" Instantly, a feeling of anger temporarily subdued Sesshomaru's thoughts. He had almost forgotten about Inuyasha. Despite the fact that Inuyasha helped with Asaki's revival, Sesshomaru still despised his brother.

"He did not come because I did not ask him to come," Sesshomaru stated behind gritted teeth, "He is of little importance right now." Sesshomaru didn't bother to think until now how Asaki might react to his obvious disliking to their brother.

Asaki frowned slightly. She saw the hate in Sesshomaru's eyes when she spoke of Inuyasha. Did he truly hate Inuyasha that much? Asaki knew when to intervene, and the next time Inuyasha and Sesshomaru would meet, she would.

Sesshomaru was hasty to let his sister out of the cave. He wanted to take her away from the wretched cave and never return, and Asaki agreed. _"Who knows how dreadful it must be to be trapped for 300 years except Asaki."_ He thought.

"I wish to leave this cave. Too long have I been here," Asaki told him in an exhausted voice, "Will you come with me?" Sesshomaru nodded fervently. Asaki jumped off the altar, and stood up for the first time in three centuries. She went to take a step, but her legs were still weak from being motionless for so long and tripped into Sesshomaru's arm. He pulled her up, and helped her to walk out of the cave.

Now about to leave the cave, Sesshomaru sustained his usual emotionless face, as he aided Asaki little by little to regain her strength to walk. A question suddenly dawned on Sesshomaru's mind. "Asaki," he asked, "Why did you not let me in the cave before?"

Asaki sighed quietly, "Like you said, I am stubborn. I didn't want to be helped on something that was my fault to be there in the first place." Sesshomaru didn't question her about that, although that question also burned in his mind. Perhaps later, when the time was right he would ask her.

Sesshomaru smirked slightly. "I never realized before you had the power of creating barriers," he told her. "What other powers do you possess that I do not know of?"

Asaki laughed, "Probably many. You have only heard of my barriers and being able to hear people think. The rest I have is nothing of importance," Her eyes suddenly became sullen; "I can't protect or fight with mine."

Finally, the two reached the end of the cave, and Asaki stepped outside into the fresh air for the first time in three centuries. She stood momentarily in the night air, and smelled the trees and felt the light wind for the first time from that eternal sleep. It was bliss to be awake and feel the things she had taken much for granted before. She sniffed the air sharply for a moment, and frowned at the scent she smelled.

"The air has changed greatly," She sighed, "It is filled with the scent of slaughter and corpses."

"This day and age there are many battles and wars being held. There is no limit to the number of bodies to be found, or the amount of innocent blood to be spilt." Sesshomaru remembered the time he had saved Rin, an innocent little girl whose life was taken by a pack of flesh-eating wolves. He had pitied the poor girl, being so little, and he spared her life with Tenseiga.

Sesshomaru found Jaken and Rin, and introduced them to his sister. Asaki was so pleased to see that Sesshomaru was taking care of a human child.

"It is a noble thing you are doing," she told him, after being introduced to Rin. Sesshomaru gave a small smile. Sesshomaru was already getting sick of her telling him compliments. She had done it when he was little, but now he knew she was trying to bribe him into something.

"If you are going to ask me something, you might as well ask me now," he told her somewhat amused.

"You see right through me Sesshomaru," Asaki resigned herself and looked him in the eye, "You don't know how grateful I am for you to have freed me, and I want to be with you. It's just; I want to also meet our younger brother. Would you take me to him?"

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the words 'younger brother'. He crossed his arms and turned took his eyes off hers. "Inuyasha is a disgrace to our family, being a hanyou. Father was wrong to go with that human woman."

"Sesshomaru, you know that is not true. It is not Inuyasha's fault he is a hanyou, nor is it father's fault for being with the human woman. Just because he is not pure bred, does not mean he isn't worthy." Sesshomaru saw her stubbornness coming through once more. It would be futile to argue with Asaki. She wanted to go see Inuyasha, and see Inuyasha she would; no matter what it might take to get there.

Sesshomaru never wanted to leave her side again, he was too afraid something might happen to her like before. But if she was going to meet Inuyasha, Sesshomaru would not follow her. "If you want to meet him," he said curtly, "You will meet him alone and go alone. I shall not follow. I'm sure you can pick up the scent of him by yourself."

There was no changing Sesshomaru's mind, and Asaki knew that well out of experience long ago. "Fine Sesshomaru, I shall go alone then. I will return to you by tomorrow night then." Asaki gave a short bow to Sesshomaru and another to Rin and Jaken before departing in the other direction of her brother.

"Asaki," Sesshomaru said to her as she left. Asaki stopped and turned her head to listen what her brother was about to say. "What ever you do Asaki, stay away from a demon named Naraku, and his off springs Kagura and Kanna." Asaki nodded and walked out of sight in the blackness of the night.

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"Interesting… So Sesshomaru and Inuyasha really _do_ have an older sister," a cold voice echoed through the darkness of a hidden castle. "Well Kanna, do you think we can use this Asaki to our advantage?" A little girl all in white sitting opposite to him nodded, as she portrayed an image of Sesshomaru and Asaki in a mirror she held.

"But Naraku how is she of importance to you if she hasn't even met Inuyasha yet, sir?" Kanna asked him.

Naraku grinned malevolently. "You will see Kanna, you will see."

**So… who's disappointed there's no biggie cliff- hanger? Ha-ha,

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I didn't think so! Sorry this took so long to write, but I had a bit of writer's block. But, a large cup of hot chocolate mixed with instant French vanilla coffee, whipped cream and LOTS of sugar broke my writer's block (I highly recommend it to all of you sugar freaks like myself!) Well, it took less than two days to write this, and that's the longest I've taken so far! I rush through everything! I hope it doesn't look too rushed. Thanks for all your nice reviews and please keep sending more! Questions, flames and any kind of review are warmly welcomed! Here are some things to expect for the next chapter which I will update in a couple of days:**

**-Inuyasha's reaction to his sister **

**-Find out why she was sealed by her own father**

**-Find out why and how Naraku plans to use Asaki**

**-Find out the rest of Asaki's powers and weaknesses**

**-The rest… you'll have to find out for yourself! **

**Okay then, keep reviewing and 'till next time!**

**-Emily (Mylastfarewell) **


	6. Chapter Six: The Illusive Demon

**Disclaimer:** This is really getting old…sigh If I must, here it goes: All hail the mighty, imaginative Rumiko Takahashi, maker and keeper of all things Inuyasha (bows down and hails to computer) All must hail to me, the creator of Asaki! Ok… I'm done belittling myself now.

**Are you tired of hearing me rant about how great all of you that reviewed my story are? I guess you can all get the point! Thank you all so much! Keep reading and reviewing! Lately since I've started this story, I've been neglected to the real world and am constantly at the computer, typing away. I'm in the process of finding more ideas of Inuyasha/Harry Potter stories that I will start immediately after this particular fanfic. But, since this story is about 60 finished, and I'm at a block so far to think of an ending, that won't happen until a few weeks or so. I might also start a one-shot fanfic manual on how to beat writer's block in Inuyasha fics! (I've had lots of experience for that!) Hope the last chapter didn't bore you to death! All right, enough of my ranting, here's the SIXTH chapter!**

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Chapter Six: The Illusive Demon

"Sango…Sango wake up!" The unnerved monk awoke the sleeping exterminator. She grunted at Miroku and rolled over to go back to sleep, but Miroku persisted on and shook her awake.

Bleary-eyed and annoyed at the monk, she gave up and looked at him. "Fine Miroku, what's wrong?" She noticed his eyes were wandering around the window, and his face looked unnervingly alert. Sango realized something must be wrong.

"Go wake up Kagome, Shippo and Kaede," He instructed her quietly, "I sense an ominous demonic aura coming this way." Sango agreed without argument and quickly shook Kagome awake. Miroku took his staff and ran outside Kaede's hut, where they had rested for the night.

It was early morning in the village. The air did not stir, as it was too heavy with a dense fog. Not a bird singing in the sky, nor the distant ripple of the small lake nearby could be heard.

Miroku was becoming blinded by the fog. Being not able to see the hut behind him, and barely the hand extended in front of his own face made him all the more agitated. The demonic aura was becoming closer and closer, yet Miroku didn't know what direction it was coming from. Miroku heard footsteps coming from behind him.

"Who's there!" He called out, trying to sound menacingly, readying his staff for an attack.

"It's us Miroku," A familiar voice said right behind him. Miroku recognized that voice as Kagome's. "We're all here." Miroku relaxed a little, but was still agitated at the thought of a demon still coming their way.

"This fog must have come from the rains yesterday," Miroku heard Shippo say. He turned around to the faint image of Sango, Kagome, Shippo and Kaede and Kirara in her transformed self.

"Kagome, do you sense any jewel shards?" Kaede asked. It was silent momentarily, as Kagome tried to sense anything that might be unusual.

"No, I don't sense anything," Kagome finally concluded.

"Quiet everyone," Miroku hushed, "I can see something coming ahead…" The group went as silent as stone. It was do deadly quiet, that one might have even been able to hear the fog.

The rest of the group saw a white silhouette ahead of them that almost seemed to cut right through the dense fog! It appeared to be a short woman, walking closer and closer to them. Each one of them at first glance could tell she was no human.

Kagome saw her long, silver hair and as she grew closer, Kagome saw her golden-amber eyes and knew they were too familiar to be coincidence. Could this be Asaki, the older sister of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha? But this girl looked barely older Inuyasha himself, let alone Sesshomaru…

The girl noticed the group and started walking over to them. Miroku readied his staff, and Sango held her Hiraikotsu close, yet they were unsure if weapons would be needed. This girl did not look as if she would harm anyone. She did not appear as if she was looking for a battle.

She walked calmly up to the group and stopped right in front of Miroku. She stood so menacingly close, that if she were to take half a step closer, Miroku's chin would be touching Asaki's forehead.

Miroku realized only then how short she was. She was a whole head shorter than him!

The girl glanced briefly at each of them, and told them, "I have no wish to fight, I bare no weapon, therefore am unable to fight. I simply wish to know if any of you have seen a half demon around here earlier. He goes by the name of Inuyasha."

Kagome knew it was Inuyasha's sister, but it hadn't been confirmed until that moment. She stepped in beside Miroku and replied, "Yes, we know him well." Sango and Miroku became a little uneasy when Kagome started giving personal information to a complete stranger, but Kagome was sure it would be fine. "Is your name Asaki?"

The girl nodded. "How do you know who I am?"

"Sesshomaru had come by yesterday to talk to Inuyasha about you. That's where we heard of your name. I thought the name he spoke of was you because you look like Sesshomaru and Inuyasha."

Asaki smiled when she heard this. "Where is Inuyasha then? I would like to see my brother." Kagome suddenly went quiet. She did not have the faintest clue of where he might've been at that time. He could've been in the forest where she had last seen him, or he could be anywhere in Eastern Japan by now!

Sango stepped in to talk to Asaki. "We're not sure where he is right now. The last place we saw him was in the middle of that forest, mid-day of yesterday," She told her, gesturing towards the sea of blurry green that was barely visible in the fog. Although the fog was slowly dissipating, it was still dense and barely visible past ten feet.

"Would you like us to escort you to the forest, Miss Asaki?" Miroku asked trying to swoon her, and reaching blindly in the fog for-

Sango sharply swiped Miroku's head with her Hiraikotsu before he did anything funny to upset her. Asaki could tell what he was trying to do, and gave a wry smile.

"Thank you for your offer, but I will decline. I think I can find Inuyasha from here. Much obliged to your help." Asaki gave a small bow to each of them and walked past them, to the blurry endless sea of green. Out of curiosity, Asaki channeled her mind to the funny hoshi's as she walked away, to find out just what was going through his mind:

"_What a demoness. But I guess it is wrong for a human monk to go with a demon. Not to mention Inuyasha would kill me! Oww, my head! Why does Sango always have to hurt me? Maybe she cares that much…"_ There was silence behind her momentarily until she heard an annoyed yelp, followed by a deafening slapping noise. Asaki thought this was somewhat amusing, but decided not to interrupt any longer and go about her own business.

Asaki stepped into the forest, sniffing the air for any traces of her relative. She had sorely missed the smell of an old forest. She had spent most of her living days in them; sometimes with the child Sesshomaru, and sometimes by herself. She admired the forests. So majestic that seemed to last forever. Asaki felt that the trees would listen to her thoughts, and would be there for her in times when nobody was. That comforted her a lot. Asaki felt whole and at peace whenever she stepped into a kingdom of trees, a sea of leaves with rivers of blossoms…It was pure bliss to her.

After a vain moment of enjoying the forest's presence, Asaki began to smell the faint scent of a half demon nearby. She walked in the direction of the scent, until it became stronger and less distant. Not long after, she heard evened breathing high above her in a tree. Something was sleeping in a tree above her.

Asaki looked up to see a boy, dressed all in red with silver hair, sleeping in an upright position on a tall branch. A sword rest on his shoulder that Asaki immediately recognized.

"_The Tetsusaiga! That is father's sword! He smells right…This must be Inuyasha!" _

Inuyasha was awoken by a sound coming from underneath him. Perhaps it was Kagome trying to check up on him…But he couldn't smell Kagome anywhere around him. The scent was not from any of his friends either. Who was it? Inuyasha opened his eyes and looked down.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" A strange girl called out to him from below. Inuyasha quickly jumped down to take a good look at this person. He didn't reply to her question.

There was silence as Inuyasha stared at this girl. He didn't know who she was, but after a moment he could almost swear his scent was faintly familiar…

"Would you be Inuyasha?" The strange girl asked again. Inuyasha was hesitant to answer.

"Who's asking?" He gruffly replied, crossing his arms.

"I hear you've only just heard of me, if you truly are who I think you are. My name is Asaki." Inuyasha's ears perked up at the word 'Asaki'. His eyes widened.

"Y-you're kidding!" He stammered. Now he understood why her scent was familiar, it smelled a lot like his and Sesshomaru's! Her silvery hair and golden-amber eyes were also an inheritance he noticed.

Asaki stepped closer to Inuyasha. This was the moment she was waiting for. To meet her youngest brother. She had met him before, but never seen him or touched him. She had never smelled his scent or been able to have a normal conversation.

Each second passed with the time of an eternity. The two siblings said nothing, but surveyed each other. They both knew that the feeling of knowing someone all your life, yet never meeting them was mutual.

After what seemed like centuries of doing nothing but stare at one another, Asaki told him, "You must have a strong heart if you carry the Tetusaiga," she gestured towards the sword that lie on his belt, "Father must've known you would be the right heir for it."

Inuyasha grinned slightly, but was still at a loss for words. Asaki could still see the astonishment in his eyes. Had Sesshomaru really taken that long to reveal Asaki to him?

"W-why were you h-hidden from me all this t-time?" Inuyasha was finally able to form into stammering words. He had so many questions to ask, he wanted to know so much about her. Asaki had the luxury of knowing exactly what his father was like; she had probably known more about their father than Sesshomaru!

Asaki gave a small sigh and sat down on a fallen tree beside her. Inuyasha hesitantly followed, not taking his eyes off of hers. "I'm not exactly sure why I had been hidden from you," Asaki began, trying to rack her brain for answers, "Of course you know that I was sealed for about three centuries until last night, and that was long before you were born. But father couldn't tell you because he passed away not long after you were born. I'm sure you would know of Myouga and Toutousai? Father's vassals?" Inuyasha nodded at her comment.

"Well they knew nothing of me, because father nor I thought it would be best to tell them about myself,-"

"-But why was it best not to tell them?" Inuyasha interrupted.

"I think that's something you will find out soon. But anyways, I have no idea why Sesshomaru didn't tell you about me until yesterday. I told him to many times before, but I have no idea why he failed in doing so." Inuyasha looked disdainfully away at those words.

"If Sesshomaru can keep something from me, he will. He's always hated me and I've always hated him back," he told her with a surprisingly modest yet scorning tone. Asaki was actually surprised that Sesshomaru would do something like that to his own flesh and blood!

Asaki had always known there was something dark and undefined about her brother Sesshomaru, but she never paid much attention to it. Instead she would try and forget about it in the vain hopes that one day; the dark impressions that swam in Sesshomaru's mind would dissipate. Apparently after three centuries now, a dark flame still glowed deep within his heart. Further more, Asaki felt responsible for how her brother turned out to be. But remembering back in the cave, Sesshomaru was so kindhearted to her, and he was exactly how he was at the mere of a child… Perhaps, there were two sides to his emotionless face… Perhaps, there was something else Asaki did not know of that was compelling Sesshomaru to act different ways toward others.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, I think it's my fault Sesshomaru ended up this way. It's my fault you didn't have anyone as a child after your mother passed away." Asaki lowered her head in resentment. Inuyasha frowned at her self-criticism.

"But you were there for me and him, even if you weren't there in real life! You even told me that our father was always with us all, and that my mother always was watching over me! How could you have helped any more?" That gave Inuyasha another question to ask her, "Asaki? When you were in the dream world, could you really talk to the dead?"

Asaki nodded, "Only if they were presenting themselves in someone's dreams. Your mother was in your dreams a lot when you were a child." Inuyasha's golden eyes widened. "M-my mother? You talked to her? What did she say?" Inuyasha persisted, absolutely thunderstruck.

Asaki was amused at his constant vigilance, "She never said very much. She was worried about you being all alone by yourself, but she was proud of how much you had grown up." She let Inuyasha have a brief moment of pause to think about his mother. She remembered how kind she looked, even as an image of death. His mother was so caring. So beautiful. Inuyasha was so fortunate to be born of a mother so warm-hearted.

Asaki decided to start asking Inuyasha some questions. She too was wondering many things about him. "I have many a question to ask you as well Inuyasha. But where to start… So, Sesshomaru told me you were on the road with some humans. What are you doing with them? Are they your friends?" Inuyasha began to tell her about the shikon no tama, how it fragmented into many shards. He told her of his own entrapment on a tree because of a miko that later deceased. He told her how he had to avenge her death. Inuyasha told her of Miroku's wind tunnel, and Sango's brother, and Shippo's father, and Kagome. Eventually he had been talking so long about his recent adventures that the fog had dissipated and the afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees overhead.

Asaki could tell in his eyes when he talked of this 'Kagome', that he had more than just a friendly relationship with her. Asaki grinned at the thought of her youngest brother finding true love. It sure looked like it; of course he tried to hide his sensitive feelings from Asaki, but she could easily see through his disguise.

"Is it noon already?" Asaki cheerfully raised her head to see the light beaming down on them from behind the trees. It was bliss to feel the warmth of the sun again.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said quietly. "Would you like to come back to the village with me? My friends probably want to formally meet you, now that I have. I'm presumably worrying them by now. So, what do you say?" Inuyasha looked up at her. She agreed enthusiastically.

Inuyasha at that moment felt whole. He felt as if the void he had always felt in his heart was somehow filled. He felt as though a warmth in his heart glowed as a flame. Nothing in the world at that moment could bring him down….until…

Inuyasha was walking back through the forest with Asaki in a most joyous mood, until something made him suddenly stand still. The hair stood on the back of his neck. He smelled a scent. A most disgusting scent that brought a great look of disgust and disdain to his face. This scent was coming closer to them, and rapidly.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" Asaki asked her brother who seemed so merry not but a moment ago. He gave a low growl, and began to search the area around them for something. Asaki began to smell a scent as well, but she did not recognize who or what it belonged to. She turned her attention to his eyes. They had the look of unimaginable hatred. Hatred? To whom would this anger in Inuyasha's heart belong to?

"Naraku…" He growled viciously, answering Asaki's thoughts. Naraku? Yes, this was a demon that Sesshomaru had warned her of earlier. When Asaki listened to Sesshomaru's warning the previous night, she had remembered seeing a hot flash of hatred behind his eyes as well. What did this Naraku do to cause this much loathing against him?

As Inuyasha became more and more agitated and on edge, it began to scare Asaki. Perhaps she might put up a barrier to protect themselves against this person? She saw Inuyasha's clawed hand twitching towards the handle of their father's sword.

Before Asaki had time to put up a barrier to protect them both, she began to feel light-headed. Her knees started to tremble and buckle, as they were suddenly unable to carry her own weight. She tried to speak to Inuyasha, but her mouth began to fumble and shake. She was now unable to form words! Her vision grew blurry as she fell into unconsciousness before she could hit the forest floor.

Inuyasha had noticed the sparkling powder that began to lazily drift down on them before Asaki got a chance to. Inuyasha covered his nose with the sleeve of his haori.

"Asaki!" He cried out from underneath his sleeve. He too was beginning to feel weak-kneed. He tried to catch her, but was slowing down too much and fell to his knees. His hand began to fumble with Tetsusaiga's handle. He was unable to unsheathe the Tetsusaiga! What was happening?

Inuyasha heard a voice around him, a despicable, cold voice that seemed to come out of nowhere. "I will take your sister for safe-keeping for now. If you want her back Inuyasha, you will have to come and find me…" The voice was getting more distant. Inuyasha felt a sudden gust of wind. He looked frantically around to see what was happening, although his vision was becoming blurry. He could see no other body lying beside him! Asaki was missing! Inuyasha tried with all his strength to get up to rescue his sister, but he failed, dropping to his knees once more.

"Damn….you…N-narak..K..ku…." Inuyasha tried to say as he slumped down onto the forest floor, unconscious.

* * *

**Muahaha-haaa! This must be the most suspenseful cliffy yet! I'm sorry for being so evil readers, but that's what makes it so fun, right? I'm sorry to say that even a glave or a knife will stop me Tohru-honda14! (Loved ur review! I guess that means you like it? Haha) I'm so glad you all like my story! I just finished this chapter after a two day creative slump (which was cured by a white-hot chocolate with whipped cream, and a day out at the mall with my bestest buddy Naomi!). Sorry for the wait for this chapter, but hopefully it was worth the wait? Review and tell me your thoughts! And just to tell you, in this story so I don't confuse you, Asaki can read people's minds and see their emotions through their eyes (even if the person is not showing emotions). The next chapter will be up very shortly, since right now I'm on a caffeine/sugar high, and I'm out of my "creative slump"! (Is it that obvious I'm a caffeine freak! That funny thing is…I hate coffee!) **

**Until the next Chapter, **

**Emily (MyLastFarewell) **


	7. Chapter Seven: Rendezvous with the Enemy

**Disclaimer:** Sorry, but as of this moment, I have no nutty or witty disclaimer notes, so I will just say that I don't own anything of the anime, Inuyasha. BUT I do own Asaki.

Inuyasha: Keh, you sound 'nutty' enough as it is, let alone a disclaimer note!

Emily: You trying to make a point, dog-boy?

Inuyasha: You already made it for me (grins)

Emily: Touché (Thinks: Watch it, or I'll make you wear a tutu in my next fanfic!)

**Well that was a long previous chapter, wouldn't you say? That was about five and a half pages on Microsoft Word. Like I said before, please read and review! I love hearing all of your comments! If you have any questions or even flames I accept them warmly! It is of course a free country (well that all depends on where you are, but I'm praying for all of your sake it's a free country where you are!) so tell me your thoughts! Umm… not much more to say. So without further a due, here is the seventh chapter!**

Chapter Seven: Rendezvous with the Enemy

"Inuyasha should be back by now. Where is he?" The worried miko paced in the elderly woman's hut in the village. The sun was beginning to set on the other side of the village, and Inuyasha had still not come back. Asaki was nowhere in sight either. Kagome knew something was wrong.

Kagome walked out of the hut and began to search the skies for Sango and her pet Kirara. Sure enough there they were coming back to the village in a rushed pace. The overly-large cat glided down and came to a halt close by Kagome.

"Kagome! Miroku! Shippo! You better get on Kirara quick!" Sango called out to the group. She had a great look of anxiety on her face that only worried Kagome even more.

"What's wrong Sango?" Miroku asked, rushing to her side in alarm, followed by Shippo.

"I was flying over the forest with Kirara to try and find Inuyasha, and I think I found him, but Kirara is unable to land around where he is. There is some sort of powder around him that weakens and wards off demons! He didn't look dead from where I was, but he wasn't moving either!" Sango rushed through her words. Without a second to spare, Miroku climbed on the back of Kirara and Kagome followed, tightly holding Shippo. In a moment they were off into the fading sky.

Kirara flew over the dense trees, trying to find the spot where they had found Inuyasha lying a few minutes before. After a few minutes of anxious searching, they found a spot in the forest that seemed to be snowed over in some glittering substance, and right in the middle of it laid a motionless red figure.

"How are we going to land if Kirara can't get near that stuff?" Sango asked them. She had already noticed that Kirara's eyes were already beginning to droop. Kagome noticed that the little kitsune in her arms was already in a peaceful slumber.

"We're going to have to land over there," Miroku gestured toward a lump of trees close to where Inuyasha was, but away enough so that Kirara wouldn't pass out. Sango nodded and instructed Kirara where to land. Kirara drifted slowly down to the lump of trees, being careful not to inhale the glimmering substance.

As soon as Kirara landed, Kagome laid the sleeping Shippo beside Kirara and ran towards the direction where Inuyasha was. Miroku and Sango followed her. Kagome spotted a heap of motionless red in the distance.

"Inuyasha! Wake up!" She cried, hurrying her pace to help the silent Hanyou. How long had be been like this? What were the long term effects for this powdery substance? Kagome ran to his side and began pulling him over to one side.

"Inuyasha? Inuyasha please wake up!" She cried in his ear. Streams of glistening tears ran down her face now. Miroku helped him sit up as Kagome brushed off the sparkling powder on him.

"He's breathing," Miroku told her, relieving them a little, "We just have to get him to wake up." Kagome wrapped her arms around the unconscious hanyou, embracing him and gently shaking him to try and revive him.

Inuyasha had no clue what was going on. He felt dazed. Where was he? Inuyasha couldn't see. His whole body was numb. What happened? He couldn't smell anything at all! Why were his senses failing him? He began to pry his eyes open.

"Inuyasha? Can you hear me?" A voice came from around him. He suddenly felt warm, as if someone was embracing him. Who was it? The voice sounded so familiar. Then he remembered who the voice belonged to.

"K-Ka...Kag-gom…me…?" He managed to whisper, fumbling on his words. Kagome embraced him tighter. She saw his golden eyes beginning to resurface. "Yes it's me Inuyasha. Are you all right?" Kagome let Inuyasha take the time to remember.

Inuyasha abruptly was bombarded with memories from that afternoon. His mind was coming back into full swing. Inuyasha tried to sit up on his own.

"N-Naraku…Was h-here! K-kidnapped As-saki!" He growled, still fumbling on his words. Kagome realized the substance on him was still affecting him.

"We have to get you out of this stuff before we do anything," She told him as she pulled him to his shaking legs. Miroku and Kagome pulled Inuyasha to Kirara, helping him walk. As soon as he left the dusted area of the forest, Inuyasha felt his strength was coming back to him.

"Naraku poured this dusty stuff on me and Asaki…Then Asaki fainted from it, and he kidnapped Asaki! We gotta save her!" Inuyasha demanded, now able to properly form words. But both Kagome and Sango disapproved of this.

"All of your strength hasn't been regained yet Inuyasha," Kagome told him in a caring tone.

"And besides, we don't even know where Naraku went! Isn't your sense of smell being blocked off from that stuff right now, Inuyasha?" Sango agreed with Kagome.

"Well yeah, but that's not the point! We have to find Naraku somehow! He has my sister! Who knows what he is going to do with her!" Inuyasha argued in almost a plea.

"And how do you suppose we do this Inuyasha?" Miroku asked him, "We'll have to fins some way of finding her, but it's getting dark. It will be much harder."

"_It's getting late. Asaki promised she would be back by now, and Asaki never breaks a promise,"_ Sesshomaru thought as he watched the sky begin to be swallowed into darkness. Asaki was nowhere in sight, and her scent was not coming closer. What could possibly be taking her?

Knowing from experience, Sesshomaru was certain Asaki never broke a promise, and she had promised to return to him by nightfall. Perhaps it was that disgraceful half breed that was keeping her. Sesshomaru was instantly enraged at the thought of his brother stealing away Asaki. He had known their sister for longer!

"Where is she m'lord? We must start walking to the castle before nightfall arrives." His imp vassal asked him. Jaken was not as nearly as worried as Sesshomaru was, even though he still show no emotion. Sesshomaru did not answer him.

The faint smell of Asaki was still there, pointing them in the direction of where she left for Inuyasha. He paused for a moment to think of what he would do next. He then glanced over at Jaken who was patiently waiting for an answer, and then at the silently sleeping Rin on the dragon she always rode.

"Take Rin back to the castle and wait there. I will return shortly," Sesshomaru instructed after a pause of thought. Jaken did not question his lord, and obeyed him. He took the reigns of the dragon with the slumbering Rin on its back, and began to walk down the path in the other direction of Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru ran the other way in a faster pace that he had ever run. For the first time, he was deeply worried. Though there was not an emotion on his face at the present time, his heart raced faster than the pace he ran at. He would come for Asaki and kill his brother… No matter what. At least, that was his train of thought until he stopped abruptly in the middle of a bog. Sesshomaru had caught a most disgusting scent, a scent he was familiar with and despised. No doubt that that scent was of Naraku's stench! Who else could smell so much like death and blood? But there was another scent with him that he also recognized. This particular essence was not sinister at all. It was Asaki's scent! Was that the reason why she had not come back to him?

Instead of following the first trail set before, he began to follow the scents of Naraku and Asaki. _"Hold on Asaki. I'm coming for you, just be okay for a little longer. Damn that Inuyasha for letting Asaki fall into that Bastard's hands…"_

**_Flash Back/Dream_**

"We can play castles another time, Sesshomaru," Asaki told her little brother. She watched as the little boy was long silver hair vanished into the woods. She then turned her attention back to her father. She could see an overwhelming sadness in his eyes, although he tried to remain emotionless. "What is wrong father?" She asked her father.

He was quiet momentarily. He wondered desperately how he would break the news to his beloved daughter. He knew there was only one way she could survive this world, and whatever it took for his family to survive, he would do it.

The demon lord lowered his head to hide his eyes beneath his silver bangs. He knew Asaki was trying to read his eyes for an answer. He couldn't bear to show her the fear and sadness he had in his heart at the present time.

"Asaki, you know that you were born a fragile demoness," His deep voice began. Asaki noddedslowly. His tone in his voice kept breaking, there were too many emotions he was fighting back and he could barely hold them back. "There is about to be a war against myself and demons coming in from Eastern China. I never told you yet, but you are not safe when they come." Her father sighed heavily, "I cannot tell you why yet. But the point is that they will kill you, and I won't be able to protect you." Asaki was shocked at his words.

"But why am I a target? Must I die like this father?" Asaki asked, raising her voice. A glistening tear ran down her face.

"I never said I would let you die Asaki! You are a target because you are my daughter, and they want to defeat me at any soft spot I may have in my heart." He watched his daughter stare at him with large golden eyes. He didn't want anything to happen to her.

"There…There is a way for you to be saved. You may not like it, but it is the only way…" His voice became distant as he tried to fight back his own tears.

"What is the way, father?" Asaki asked him. Usually his strong, proud face portrayed no emotions, but today was different. Today, his face was full of sadness and regret. Whatever he was about to offer, it couldn't be good at all.

He thought for a moment, on how he would break the news to his daughter. She was still so young, she didn't deserve this. He just couldn't protect her while he was fighting, and Sesshomaru was obviously too small to help out his sister. After a long pause, he solemnly stated, "The only way that you can be safe, and out of harm's way is to be sealed…"

**_End Flashback/Dream_**

Asaki woke with a shock. She found her self in a darkened room, alone. She was lying on the cold, hard ground. _"Where am I? What happened?"_ she thought. The last thing she remembered was being in a forest, talking to Inuyasha, and then some strange glittering substance falling down on them. Was Inuyasha with her now? Asaki looked around the room frantically.

She saw nothing except walls and darkness. Nobody was there with her, but she felt a presence as if she were being watched from somewhere else. She could smell a scent nearby that she remembered from the forest just before she fell unconscious.

Without warning, the shoji screen behind her opened. Asaki saw two figures on the other side of the screen. A tall man was long, wavy hair and a little girl, all in white that carried a mirror. The man's eyes appeared to glow in a dull red. Asaki knew this was no human man.

"I see you have awakened," His voice was cold, malicious and had a slightly teasing tone to it. His eyes stared at her with amusement and fury. She couldn't see most of his features, as he preferred to stay in complete darkness. Asaki's eye sight was not as good as her brothers' eyes; they could barely see in the dark.

"Who are you and what is your purpose with me?" Asaki asked coldly to him. The man grinned evilly.

"I apologize for being such a rude host. Call me Naraku," Asaki's eyes widened at his name. He was the one that Sesshomaru had warned her about! He was the one that Inuyasha swore he would kill! The man continued to speak, "As for what you are doing here, well I can't tell you that. But I can tell you this, if you want to live, you will abide to me." Asaki gave him an icy stare.

"Not if I can help it." Asaki immediately took a small blue blossom out of a hidden pocket in her white dress. She closed her eyes and squeezed the blossom in the palm of her pale hand. Instantaneously, a deep blue force field emanated from her hand and circled around her body equivalent to a bubble. Asaki smirked at her kidnapper. She decided to play head games with him. "You were saying?" She teased.

Naraku scowled furiously. Had he known she had such a power he would have erected a barrier against her force fields. How could Asaki have control of such power if Sesshomaru and Inuyasha did not? "I have over-estimated you Asaki," He said quietly. All amusement in his tone was gone. "You may be able to protect your self for now, but you will not be able to leave this room, I promise you that."

"Terribly sorry for ruining your plans. Well since they are of no use to you anymore, you might as well let me know what you were thinking of." Asaki grinned, basking in the kidnapper's anger. She knew she couldn't be able to keep it up for long, but she would as long as it took for someone to come help her.

"Don't be so sure of yourself just yet, Asaki." Naraku cautioned between gritted teeth. He then turned to the little girl beside him. "Kanna, stay by the door and watch her. If she does anything funny, you can be the first to _stop_ her." Naraku shot one last icy glare at Asaki, and then left. The little girl stayed behind and kneeled in the corner of the darkened room. She was as silent as stone.

Asaki was beginning to wear out quickly. Putting up a force field took a lot of her energy, and it was still feeding on her energy to keep it up in case they tried to hurt her. Her head games with her kidnapper had temporarily worked. He believed she was not afraid of him. But secretly, she was terrified of him. What he was going to do to her, she didn't know. Her force-field would only stay for so long. And as soon as it would go down, that child in the corner would tell this Naraku…She shuddered at the thought of what he might do.

And where was Inuyasha? Did he escape? Or was he already killed? _"Please be okay Inuyasha."_ She had to contact someone to help her. But her energy was already running out quickly! If she were to contact Sesshomaru or Inuyasha, she wouldn't have enough energy left to keep up her force-field, but if she didn't contact someone, she could be there for a weeks before someone would find her! What would she do?

**I was gonna leave it at a lesser cliffy, but I couldn't resist! Besides if I did, I would accidentally reveal something about the next chapter ;) (Ssshh… That's our little secret!) YAY! I'm glad someone agrees with my caffeine loving lifestyle! LelynBlack, I should give ya one of my mochaccino recipes! Haha… Well what did you all think of this chapter? It's a bit shorter than the last one, but the next one I believe is going to be super long! Warning though, it may take a few days to write! I shouldn't have left you on a cliffhanger like that if it's gonna take a few days to update…Hmm….Oh well! I'm just so evil! I'll try and get the next chapter in as quick as I can! If you have any questions, I'd be delighted to answer them, and I absolutely ADORE reviews! Please keep reviewing! And thank you all for your great, great reviews! I also accept flames! (Wow I'm repeating myself so many times!) Oh, and by the way, by little argument with Inuyasha with the disclaimer note… Well let's just say my next fanfic is gonna involve a certain hanyou and a hot pink tutu! Okay, then! Until next chapter,**

**Emily (MyLastFarewell) **


	8. Chapter Eight: A Very Distressed Signal

**Disclaimer:** Why must we degrade ourselves to do this! I think people get our point by now! (Damn you lawyers! Curse you all!) Fine…. I do not have the oh-so-mighty mind of Rumiko Takahashi! But my oh-so-pitiful mind is capable of making a character named Asaki. Cries I'm not worthy Takahashi-sama! bows and grovels

**I was reviewing my last chapters and I realized how much I was socializing in my last Author's notes! I'm really a chatter box! Well hopefully this time I'll keep it a bit shorter (unless of course you enjoy hearing my usual psycho babble?). I have nothing as of yet to answer or clarify, but if you see something you're unsure about do ask in the reviews! Please read and review! Umm… nothing more of importance to say…Yup! I'm as happy as a clam! So here's the next chapter and enjoy!**

Chapter Eight: A Very Distressed Signal

Sesshomaru ran along a narrow river at such a speed that would be impossible to see from the human eye. The sickening disease of worry that lingered in his heart spread to his stomache, and all around his body. Ever so slightly, Sesshomaru trembled at the thought of Naraku hurting his sister. Why was Asaki such a target to all things incredibly evil? Even he, although the goodness in his heart was slowly growing, still desired power; and even in vain moments he thought of how Asaki could make him more powerful. He still did not know all of Asaki's inherited powers he had not gained himself, he knew she was powerful. Powerful, yet weak. Strong, yet delicate.

At first Sesshomaru thought he was imagining the voice that spoke in his mind, but soon he realized he was not imagining anything. It was Asaki's voice coming to him! She was trying to communicate with him!

Alarmed, Sesshomaru immediately stopped running. Trying to stop at such a force, he skidded along the river bank, picking up dust clouds into the midnight air. Asaki would only do this in cases of emergencies. Naraku must be doing something horrid to her! He knew it!

"_Sesshomaru? Sesshomaru! Can you hear me? Where are you?" _The distant voice asked him.

"_I can hear you Asaki. What is the matter?"_ Sesshomaru thought back to her. _"Are you allright?" _

"_I'm fine…at the moment,"_ Her tone of voice sounded somewhat exhausted. _"I don't know where I am right now. All I can see is that I am in a dark room. I can barely see anything. The one called Naraku brought me here. I won't have much time. I cannot hold him off with my barrier forever."_

"_Barrier?"_ Sesshomaru never heard of her using a barrier before. _"You are holding him off?"_

"_Yes, I can make a small force-field…But the problem is, I can't keep it up for long. It has already drained most of my energy, and contacting you is making it worse…But it must be done. Can you smell Naraku's or my scent nearby?"_

"_I'm on your trail right now. I'm coming to get you and kill Naraku. Tell me, I don't see any buildings nearby. Could where you are be hidden in a hill nearby?" _Sesshomaru eyed the black, forested hills on the dark horizon.

"_I don't see any windows in this room. Nor are there any doors that lead outside. That could be a plausible explanation…But there could be a trick to it somehow…I..Think…" _Asaki's became more distant and spaced out. Sesshomaru knew her energy was wavering rapidly.

"_Don't worry Asaki, I'm coming. Just hold off of Naraku for a little longer."_ Sesshomaru began running again, faster than any arrows or modern day bullets could slice air.

* * *

"Naraku, her force-field is beginning to wane," A simple, emotionless, yet even innocent voice came from the little girl all in white. The shoji screen door slowly opened, as a dead silence filled the darkened room.

Asaki sensed a foreboding, malignant aura to the man called Naraku that she hadn't noticed before. His thoughts of bloodlust, killing and corrupted desires choked the room and overwhelmed Asaki. His glowing eyes portrayed pure anger. A wicked, wrathful soul that showed endless pain and suffering. There was no room for mercy in his heart. That was easy to see. Loathing. Pure corruption of the heart that no words of any language could possibly somewhat describe. She could smell death on his body. She could smell the innocent children's blood that lingered, and the fear of the slaughtered people. Did they not torment his dreams? Did these dead souls not haunt his every action? How could even a demon stoop to this? How much innocent blood had to be spilled, and bodies to rot in fields, in order to satisfy his bloodlust and urge for destruction? His presence alone sickened Asaki and made her stomache lurch.

His wicked eyes landed on Asaki's. Oh how those eyes stung like poison. Asaki removed her eyes and winced at his very presence.

At the moment, Asaki was on all fours, trying with all her might to keep her blue force field up. Unfortunately her efforts were failing quickly, as the barrier weakened, fading and thinning. This amused Naraku very much indeed.

"What? No idle comments for me? I'm very disappointed," His eyes glinted with a malicious sense of satisfaction. Asaki tried standing up to face her opponent, but was shaking hysterically from the knees. Naraku saw this and laughed wickedly. "You must be tired, Asaki. That barrier must've taken a lot of energy. I highly doubt you can muster up enough to hold me off any longer." His tone was full of mock sympathy and amusement.

Asaki glared at him. "You damned bastard." She muttered through gritted teeth. "I imagine you take pride in other people's pain very much. Tell me, do you sleep well knowing that the innocent people you mercilessly slaughtered may just come back to haunt you? Do you realize just how much you smell of death? How can you not regret what you do?"

Naraku laughed at her questions as if it were a children's question. "Regret? Innocents? I daresay you are the strangest demoness I've ever met. Not many demons care what happens to humans, and I am one of them. Besides, the blood of the innocent is much more beautiful and tainted. Why should any of this concern you at the moment?" Naraku saw how her breathing became more rash and violent. Her eyes began to loll back and forth, not quite sure on what they were focusing on.

Asaki fell to her knees in exhaustion. Naraku knew this was the perfect time. He chuckled to himself in the back of his throat. He kneeled beside the pale figure and took a good long look at her. In many ways she resembled Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. Surprisingly, there were no marks on her face that a full demon of their family would have. He could smell her fear that she was trying so hard to conceal.

After a long pause, Naraku pulled out a shiny, band of gold. "If I may," He asked teasingly as he grabbed her left hand. Asaki tried to fight back, but was unable to. Naraku took the golden band and slipped it onto her wrist as a bracelet. Almost instantaneously, the gold band shrunk to be skin tight. Asaki cried out in pain, as the bracelet almost welded into her very skin. She tried pulling it off, but it was of no use.

"Funny how the mind can be corruptible; even a demoness'," Naraku told her in an almost dazed voice. "The bracelet will not come off, I can promise you that." Naraku pulled her hand to his face and admired how beautiful the gold looked across her pale skin. Asaki was finding herself unable to speak.

"Now dearest demoness, let me show you what your new gift does…"

* * *

"Are you sure this is the way, Inuyasha? All I can see are hills," Sango looked down at the scenery below them. Sango, Kagome, Miroku and Inuyasha were crammed on Kirara's back in the night sky, trying aimlessly to find Inuyasha's missing sister.

"I'm sure of it. I can smell both her and Naraku now. And I can smell them right below us." Inuyasha gestured towards one particular hill below them.

"Allright then Kirara, take us down over there," Sango instructed to Kirara. Kirara began to slowly ascend down

Kagome couldn't help but worry about the hanyou behind her still. He had only just gotten out of that strange dust, and all of his strength hadn't returned yet. Plus the fact that he was about to rescue someone he knew nothing about. Kagome couldn't help but wonder if his new found sister would change their previous ways.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kagome cautioned. Inuyasha nodded in a business-like fashion. He watched Kagome's caring eyes. He knew she was worried about his feelings right now, but there was nothing he could do at the moment to help ease her worriedness.

Inuyasha was about to say something encouraging to Kagome, when Miroku burst out, "Inuyasha! Look down there!" He pointed towards a flash of silver that was moving at an incredible speed. Inuyasha was so occupied that he didn't smell Sesshomaru's scent at all!

He growled in the back of his throat. "What is _he_ doing here?" He asked as he watched the silver blur dash across the quiet country side.

"If he's going the same way we are going, do you think we should follow him?" Kagome wondered aloud. Inuyasha just grumbled.

"What makes you think he's going the same way as us?" retorted Inuyasha.

"Well it's highly unlikely that he's here n coincidence for a midnight stroll," Sango inquired, "And if you can smell your sister and Naraku, than he probably can as well."

Kirara gradually floated down the ground. Inuyasha jumped off Kirara's back just before she landed. He instantly unsheathed his sword and began to sniff around for a clue to where his sister was.

Suddenly, a flash of white circled around Inuyasha in less than a second and stopped right in front of his face. It took Inuyasha a while to realize what was standing in front of him, almost touching his nose.

"Inuyasha, what are you and your human friends doing?" Sesshomaru stared icily at Inuyasha and his companions. Inuyasha wrinkled up his nose in distaste of his brother.

"I'm going to get Asaki, now if you'll excuse me," Inuyasha tried pushing his brother to one side, but Sesshomaru grabbed Inuyasha's wrist and threw him down to the ground. It looked all too easy for Sesshomaru as he pinned Inuyasha down to the dirt with his foot.

Inuyasha struggled, but Sesshomaru's foot was dangerously close to his throat. If he tried to struggle with that on his neck…

"Listen little brother and listen well," Sesshomaru whispered to him menacingly. "You are the reason that Asaki is missing right now, and if you even think of following me to save her, you won't live to see daylight."

Inuyasha choked underneath Sesshomaru's weight. "Keh…I don't have time for bickering right now. Asaki needs both of our help right now, whether you like it or not. Besides, you can't get in without me…Can't you smell the barrier Naraku put up over this castle?" Sesshomaru eyed him suspiciously. He finally freed Inuyasha swiftly and crossed his arms.

"Fine then little brother. Let's see what you're made of…" He said in an emotionless tone, "Remove the barrier."

Inuyasha quickly stood up and positioned the Tetsusaiga firmly in his hands. "It'll be my pleasure." Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Kirara ran out of the way of Inuyasha, as his blade began to glow a fervent red.

Inuyasha walked towards the bottom of the hill, swinging the fire red blade onto his shoulder. In one swift blow, he brought the Tetsusaiga down, slashing what appeared to be nothing but air at first; but after a pause, a green glowing orb the size of the hill appeared and instantly vanished. Almost instantly after the barrier had vanished, an elaborate door revealed itself in front of Inuyasha that led into the hill.

Inuyasha signaled for his companions to come follow him. But before he could open the door, a silver flash of light sped in front of him, opened the door and went inside. Sesshomaru was instantly gone.

"That dirty bastard! YOU CHEAT!" He called out to Sesshomaru, but he was already too far away to hear.

"Come on Inuyasha let's go! Asaki is probably somewhere inside!" Kagome said, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. Sango and Miroku followed.

* * *

The scent of her own blood was blocking off her ability to smell. Her eyes were blurry with tears as she winced in pain. But she had to stay conscious a little longer. Just until someone came to get her. But would they come this time?

"You are only doing this to yourself Asaki," Naraku teased in her ear, "If you only obey what I am saying, you wouldn't be getting so hurt." He lightly stroked her smooth silver hair, as it was now dotted with drops of her own blood. Naraku was enjoying seeing her in pain. He loved the smell of her spilt blood. He longed to see her winces of pain again and again and again.

"Damn…you…N-Naraku!" She stammered defiantly, shrugging away from him so he couldn't touch her. Naraku only got more amused by this.

"Careful now Asaki. As long as you wear that bracelet, you must obey me. Otherwise you will spill more blood." Naraku stroked the golden band on her left wrist. "Let's try this again, shall we?" He asked teasingly.

"No," Asaki muttered in pain. Naraku ignored her comment.

"Go and retrieve it for me!" Naraku ordered loudly.

"NO!" Asaki screamed aloud. As soon as she screamed out her response, a deep slash like a whip rapidly appeared on her back, spraying droplets of blood onto the floor. Asaki cried out in pain. There were several slash marks on her arms and back now that were staining her once white dress a deep red. "Please stop!" Asaki cried to Naraku.

"I cannot stop the wounds that appear from your mutiny. It is the bracelet that gives you these wounds. So unless you obey my command, those wounds will only grow deeper." Naraku sat back in enjoyment as he saw her golden eyes rush with tears of pain.

The bloody mess fell to the floor, desperately gasping for breath. _"Inuyasha…Sesshomaru? Anyone…Please help…"_

Not a second after, a figure burst through the shoji screen, breaking it to bits. Asaki looked up to see a tall, silver-haired man she mistook for a second as her father. After a quick moment, she realized it was Sesshomaru! Following right after Sesshomaru was another silver-haired boy with a large sword on his shoulder. It was Inuyasha! They had both come!

Sesshomaru looked in horror as he saw his older sister, lying in a pool of her own blood, with Naraku now standing at her side. Sesshomaru instantly felt a burning hate towards Naraku. A merciless, heated loathing to his villainous adversary. "What did you do!" Sesshomaru whispered viciously. His eyes daring to glow red to reveal his true form. He shook with immense anger.

Inuyasha, who was behind him growled at the scent of Asaki's spilled blood. How dare Naraku! He would truly die this night, and not live to even see his mangled body in the morning. Inuyasha readied his sword for a long awaited fight.

"What did I do to her?" Naraku laughed. "I simply gave Asaki a gift. It was of her own accord that her blood flowed from her body. She chose not to obey me, therefore hurting herself!" Naraku grinned to himself, knowing he succeeded in his plans.

Inuyasha ran past Sesshomaru after a hesitant moment of wait and ran over to Asaki. He gently but quickly picked her up out of the puddle of blood and propped her against the wall. He noticed the many whip-like slashed all across her upper arms and back. What exactly was going on here?

"Are you allright?" He asked her worriedly. Asaki tried to reply, but couldn't. Her breathing was too harsh to form words. She simply nodded to encourage him. Inuyasha knew he had to get over to Sesshomaru to stop him from transforming; it was too dangerous to do that with Asaki there.

A few moments later, Sango, Miroku and Kagome rushed into the room to help out their friend. Kagome spotted a crouched over figure by the wall she recognized as Inuyasha's sister. Miroku and Sango ran to Inuyasha's side while Kagome stayed with Asaki to examine the extent of her wounds.

Kagome was shocked to see how badly damaged she was. If Asaki was to be human, she would've already died of blood loss, but even as a demoness she was still in danger of dying.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out to him. "Her wounds are really serious. We have to get her out of here as soon as possible!"

Inuyasha, without leaving his attention from Naraku replied, "You and Asaki get outta here before anything else happens!" Naraku heard everything they were saying and was getting annoyed.

"You think I'm going to let you all go so quickly?" he asked them all. Almost instantaneously after he spoke, two demons appeared at the broken down door. The first one, a little child all in white carrying a mirror, and the second, a tall woman with glowing pink eyes, holding a spread-out fan. They seemed powerless against all of them. Asaki could barely tell the two were demons. But the rest of them knew well their true powers.

"Did we miss the party?" The woman asked in a cool, breathy voice. She eyed each one of her opponents and grinned in delight. _"This should be easy."_ She thought to herself.

"Kagura, please attend to our guests, would you?" Naraku asked. Kagura nodded.

"You're not getting off that easy Naraku," Sesshomaru informed him, enraged. Now both brothers, the demon slayer and the monk were surrounding Naraku and closing him into a corner of the room. Naraku only smiled vaguely at this.

Inuyasha couldn't take the anticipation any longer. He charged at Naraku, with his sword in mid-air. Inuyasha brought the sword down, just as Naraku dodged it, and disappeared into the darkness of the room.

"Where did the bastard go!" He yelled, frantically looking around for him.

"I'm over here Inuyasha. Thank you for worrying about me." Naraku teased. He was now standing beside Kagura, who had her fan in an attacking position. With a wave of her fan, Kagura sent sharp blades of wind after the group before her.

Before the wind-blades could touch any of them, Sesshomaru unsheathed his sword Toukijin and swiped it in the air, sending a massive blue force that blocked the wind sorceress' attacks. Naraku saw this and put a small orb-like barrier around himself, Kagura and Kanna.

"Is that how you want to be finished?" Inuyasha said. "Two can play at this game!" The Tetsusaiga in Inuyasha's hands promptly turned bright red as he swung it down. The force emitted from the sword broke Naraku's barrier protecting them.

Naraku, unexpecting the sudden change of events grew impatient and angry at the group. No thanks to Inuyasha, his barrier had dissipated and he had nothing to protect himself with. He knew there were too many of his enemies there at once to kill off immediately. He thought of a last minute plan to defeat them.

"Kagura," He said in a low, annoyed tone, "Our visitors seem restless. I think it's high time that we leave this little reunion." Naraku then whispered something to Kagura. She nodded and brought out her fan once more.

Inuyasha readied his fighting arm that held the Tetsusaiga. Sesshomaru held Toukijin carefully. Sango stroked her boomerang that rested on her back. Miroku ruthlessly held the beads that kept his kazaana away from his palm.

Instead of hitting her opponents ahead of her, Kagura sent wind blades rushing from her fan to the ceiling above them. The roof supports that held the hidden castle from begin crushed under the immense weight of the hill snapped like a twig. Immediately, Kagura took a feather from her hair and transformed it into a boat-like air craft. Naraku, Kanna and herself quickly climbed onto it as it flew speedily out of the hidden cavern.

Sesshomaru, not yet ready to give up the fight, ran as he did before, following them.

Inuyasha heard a low rumbling and creaking above their heads. The room…no…The whole cavern was about to collapse on top of them! "This place is about to collapse! We gotta get out of here!" He yelled to them.

**Well that's a pretty big chapter, but not as big as I first intended it to be. I really should stop it with this whole evil cliff hanger stuff…But one: It's WAY too much fun to give up on it now! And two: My English teacher has taught me to always end with a suspenseful cliffhanger, and now I've just grown too accustomed to it! Sorry, but hey, it's the best part isn't it? (Thanks for agreeing with me on this one Lelyn Black!) Umm… Kinda embarrassing to say, but I wasn't very imaginative in some random parts in this chapter, so it may sound kinda rushed or boring. Sorry if you notice that! Still nobody has any questions? Well I'm glad people understand me well enough then! I usually confuse people a lot with my mixed grammar (you see I don't speak English all the time ya now, so I sometimes get my languages mixed up. That and the fact that I'm just really confusing no matter what!) **

**I'm so glad that there are caffeine/sugar/chocolate lovers out there like me! Hotcocoalatte and Lelyn Black, you are my heroes! (I put that recipe for a really good mochaccino in my bio if you're interested! Haha) **

**Speaking of heroes, I just want to say how much each and every one of you peoples that reviewed are my heroes as well! I get so whimsical whenever I get a review that I start dancing around my house, and scare my poor kitten in doing so! (He gives me this confused scared look, whenever I start dancing.) Anyone who hasn't reviewed that would like to or even flame, I would still think you're my hero… So PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE keep reviewing everyone! Here's a list of my heroes at the moment:**

**Tohru-Honda14: **I liked your threatening review to update! Sorry I'm so mean, but

Cliffhangers are in my blood! It can never stop!

**Azmidiske: **Glad you liked it! Thanks for the review

**JGK200: **It's great that you're really into my story! Merci beacoup! Sorry for

Making you die to find out what happens

**Trallgorda: **Wow, with a review like that, my story must be good! My thanks…

**CrazyTengu: **I like your name! I'm updating for you Tengu! (Hey I rhymed!)

**Inu-Shinta: **Yup, she's a good demoness, but there might be something to contradict

That a bit later on in the chapters ;) Thanks for the review

**Lelyn Black: **We do sound a lot alike! I see…1,2,3,4,5… yes five reviews! Thanks so Much! I loved your HP fic: The fifth Marauder! It sounds as thoughyou are very much devoted to reviewing fanfics!

**I am your Sweet 666: **Another person dying because of my chapters? Pleasedon't die! Well I'm really glad you like my chapters! (I should really try and lay off the whole cliff hanger thing if people are dying!)

**xWhit3StaRx: **I'm glad you really like it! Thanks for the review

**Hotcocoalatte: **Another sugar/caffeine lover! YAY! (Your name makes me want **a **hot chocolate! Haha) I should try the French vanilla cappuccino thing. Thanks for the review!

**Okay there's my list. It'll get bigger if people review… Please? Okay I'll shut up now, since my author's note is so massive (And I said I would keep it short…) **

**Until next chapter,**

**Emily (Mylastfarewell) **


	9. Chapter Nine: A Familiar Curse

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing okay! Even though I've made my character Asaki, all that's left that I own is a computer, a microwave and bed! (Takahashi-sama, if you're reading this and want dibbs on my character… please email me! Haha)

**I apologize for the wait on this chapter, but since March break is over and I am packed to the brim with essays, a final in vocals and many other high school troubles, I don't have much time left. But for my heroic reviewers, this story shall live on to its last chapter! Not much more to say…Umm… I will be starting a Harry Potter/Inuyasha fanfic when I find the time, but that may not be for a while. So anyways…. Please, please, please I'm begging all that reads my story to review whether it is nice or flamie! I love all your comments! Please keep 'em going! Love ya's! Here we go then… the 9th chapter of my fanfic!**

Chapter Nine: A Familiar Curse

_"Go and get it,"_ it repeated persistently.

_"Get what?"_ she asked the voice back.

_"Fetch me the jewel,"_ it said, _"Fetch me the poisoned jewel!"_

_"I don't know where it is…"_ she told the voice back.

_"You will find it and bring it to me even if you must kill him, Asaki…"_

"Asaki…Asaki? Asaki!" Inuyasha knelt by his unconscious sister as he tried to waken her.

"Neh Inuyasha, don't wake her," the old miko warned him lightly. They all had made it out of the caverns of the hill before it had collapsed. Unfortunately, Asaki had succumbed to her wounds and remained unconscious. Inuyasha frowned. He could already tell that Asaki was weaker than most demons, even though she was a full one. Most demons would still be conscious after what had happened.

Asaki's eyes eventually began to flutter. She heard Inuyasha's voice becoming more and more defined. She pried her blurry eyes open to find a room full of worried faces, lit by candle light. She quickly looked around for any signs of Naraku or his minions.

"Asaki! Are you allright?" Inuyasha asked her hurriedly. Asaki nodded distractedly. She ignored the throbbing pains coming from her back and upper arms. She saw they had been bandaged and treated. But something else much more important was distracting her from her wounds.

Asaki quickly brought her left hand up to her face to examine it. To her great disdain, the golden bracelet the enemy had placed on her delicate wrist still remained firmly gripped to her skin. Inuyasha and the others noticed this too. Inuyasha certainly had not remembered anything that tight on her wrist before Naraku had taken her. Her skin underneath it seemed puckered and almost losing circulation.

"What's that?" He asked Asaki, pointing towards the band of gold. Asaki felt ashamed to admit that the enemy had placed a curse on her. She felt demeaned as a demon to be under the control of another demon. Certainly she would be able to break the curse without any help, she thought. Asaki felt she had no need to tell her brother or his friends, as it would cause her to feel even more defenseless.

"Oh…Nothing, it's….nothing. Just a bracelet. I've never been able to take it off." Asaki fibbed in her defense. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. Maybe he had overlooked the bracelet and just did not remember it was there? Oh well, it was nothing of harm then.

Kagome, wondering deeply of what Naraku had done to Asaki and why, decided to ask her. "Asaki, do you remember what Naraku was doing to you? Do you remember exactly why he had kidnapped you?" Everyone was silent, eagerly waiting for Asaki's response.

Asaki hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was okay to tell them. Although the monk was somewhat questionable, she saw no dishonesty or untrustworthiness in any of their eyes. Asaki heaved a small sigh and began to talk.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I know the reason why this Naraku tried to kidnap me, but each of you will have to promise to never repeat what I am about to speak to anyone outside yourselves." Asaki looked at them to receive a hesitant nod by each of them. The group immediately was intrigued by Asaki's secretive nature. Again, the monk, the exterminator, the young and old mikos, the little fox and cat, and her brother watched her strenuously.

Asaki half-mindedly looked around the area to make sure no unintended set of ears would hear her news. After a quick moment of pause, Asaki began. "I know that each of you know well the story of the shikon jewel by now, am I correct?" They each nodded their heads hastily. Asaki continued.

"Well princess warrior whose heart formed the sacred jewel, also had a sister. Unlike the warrior, her sister was much different. Her sister was evil, and had intentions to kill the princess warrior because her sister's fame had grown to make her feel jealousy, anger and loathing. Because of this, her heart seethed with the poisoned thoughts of destruction, death and scorn against all things good.

The night that the warrior was planned to be murdered, her sister convinced demons from the mountains to come and battle with the warrior princess. The demons agreed in return for the warrior's soul. That night, that exact same battle, it was the battle that decided the warrior princess' fate. Ironically in the end, one of the demons who had battled the warrior escaped before it got sealed and went to her sister in revenge. The demon ended up killing the sister, and taking her evil soul.

But when that demon had taken her soul, it had turned into a crystal, or jewel. This jewel is the sister jewel of the Shikon jewel, and it still exists." Asaki paused for a moment.

The group sat wide-eyed in front of Asaki. A sister jewel to the Shikon jewel!

"So you're saying, there is another jewel!" Sango asked her in complete bewilderment. Asaki nodded.

"But what does this have to do with you being kidnapped by Naraku?" Inuyasha asked her.

"The thing is, I know where the jewel is hidden. Some how Naraku must have found out about the sister jewel, and he found out that I know where to find it." Asaki sighed, "That's why he was torturing me to find it for him. But I refused. This particular jewel is poisoned. It is no worse, yet no better to the Shikon jewel. In fact, it does the complete opposite of the jewel you know. Instead of granting humans and demons power and strength, the poisoned jewel drains it from them. The closer you get to this jewel, the more it will permanently drain you of your power. Your power and energy does not return to you after you've held this jewel in your hand."

Miroku thought tentatively. "If Naraku had that kind of power at his fingertips, he would be unstoppable!"

"Aye," Kaede grimly agreed. "But how would he keep it in his possession if it would drain his own power?"

"He probably wanted me to stay with him to hold it, so I would lose my power instead of him," Asaki said quietly. Inuyasha quickly stood up, a determined look grew steadily in his eyes.

"I'm not going to let him take you again, Asaki. I won't." He said. Asaki could see his claws were tightly clenched to the palms of his hand. He was indeed angry at Naraku.

Without another word, Inuyasha stepped outside to sit on the roof by himself. He told himself he would guard the hut overnight, in case that persistent demon came slinking along again.

"But, what can we do?" Kagome thought aloud, "A jewel like that can't stay out of protection when someone that evil is trying to take it!" Shippo agreed.

"The only thing _I_ can do is take it back, and find a way to destroy it before anyone can get their hands on it." Asaki told her. "If a human were to touch it for more than a few seconds, they would instantly die." Kagome jerked slightly at her words. Shippo grew worried about his friend and hugged Kagome closely while in her arms.

After a while, the group decided to rest for the remainder of the night. They all quickly fell asleep in Kaede's hut, but Asaki still lie awake, worrying over what to do. The wounds in her back were quickly healing, as any demons' would. She was now able to stand and walk around. After failing to fall asleep countless times, she decided to go out of the hut for some fresh air.

The night was already beginning to lighten a little. Although dawn was still a few hours away, the endless black sky began to fade into a dull gray. She stood outside, staring at the sky for a few moments, before a voice startled her.

"Are you allright enough to be walking around?" Inuyasha asked her. Asaki quickly turned around to see a pair of glowing amber eyes staring at her in the darkness on top of the hut.

"You scared me Inuyasha. I thought you were asleep." Asaki heaved a breath of relief it was no one else. "I'm fine." Asaki jumped onto the hut to sit next to her brother. Inuyasha was slightly surprised at how fast she managed to heal.

Asaki sat next to him. They were silent for a while, not knowing what to say to each other. Finally Asaki spoke to him.

"So have you realized why I am how I am?" she asked him shyly.

"What do you mean?"

"Why I'm so much weaker than most demons."

Inuyasha grunted lightly. "Yeah… How long did you handle it?"

"I was the jewel's guardian for ten years before Sesshomaru was born."

"Ten years! Who made you do this!" Inuyasha looked straight at her in bewilderment and rage.

"I only touched the thing once, but I was around it for the ten years. It was of my choosing to guard it, but it was father who asked me to do it. I chose to guard it, because I thought I could prove to myself that I was strong. I wanted to be a strong demon like father." Asaki lowered her head in self disgust. "But I really faltered. I was so foolish then."

Inuyasha felt deep sympathy to his sister, but didn't know how to express it. Hesitantly, Inuyasha took Asaki's hand and held it firmly. Asaki smiled at him.

Asaki could feel the sympathy and pain emanating from his body. She could also feel the want to protect her, but Asaki knew what she had to do.

"Inuyasha. I know as well as you know what I must do," Asaki slowly told him. He nodded grimly.

"I was afraid you would say that. I don't want you to be left alone though! I need to protect you from Naraku!" he said determinedly.

"I know you do, and you are…but I must do this alone. You have friends to protect, and I only make it harder for you to do so. I can meet up with you later down the road, but for a few days I need to go alone." Inuyasha agreed despondently.

"Thank you Inuyasha, I will come back to you in a few days. But after that I will need to go alone to destroy the damned thing." Asaki got up and embraced her brother. He slowly returned the embrace. Asaki could almost feel Inuyasha shake with the fear he had for her going alone.

Asaki finally let go, and turned to leave. "Inuyasha, I have one favour to ask you," She said. "Please don't try to fight or kill Sesshomaru. He will not try to kill you if you don't try to kill him."

* * *

"So he found out, did he?" Asaki could instantly hear the dislike in his voice when he spoke of their brother. It was a shame that the brothers could not be closer. 

"I did what I judged to be right Sesshomaru. Inuyasha had a right to know about me," Asaki sternly told him.

"Inuyasha does not deserve to know. Was it really necessary for his human companions to know also? If information like that reached the tainted ears of Naraku…" Sesshomaru internally shuddered at the thought of Naraku taking his sister again.

After Asaki had left Inuyasha that night, she met up with Sesshomaru to discuss her plans. Sesshomaru and Asaki had stopped in a familiar glade of a forest they knew well growing up to stop and talk.

The morning sun was already half way above the line of trees on the horizon. Golden autumn colours streaked the sky, for it was almost time for the leaves to turn and fall. The leaves and grass of the forest shimmered with fresh morning dew. Asaki loved mornings like these. She loved how the dew emphasized the scents of the forests to which she adored most. But today, she couldn't take the time to stop and admire the early autumn.

Asaki sat on a fallen oak log and watched her little brother pace in front of her. She could feel his anxiety and alertness emanating from him in a series of tremors. Although Sesshomaru had mastered the art of hiding his emotions, Asaki could see right through it without any difficulties. He was obviously worried one of the humans or their brother would not keep the secret and Naraku would find out. Asaki was a little worried too, but she saw no traits of suspicion in their eyes.

"Sesshomaru," she said after watching him pace for the longest time. "I saw no untruthfulness in the humans, or Inuyasha. They can be trusted with the secret."

"I would have been fine if you had just told Inuyasha!" Sesshomaru raised his voice slightly in anger. "It was supposed to be the family secret and never to have been known by any other human or demon! Naraku will kill you the second he finds out about your weakness!" Sesshomaru clenched his fist in fury.

Asaki frowned. She had never fought like this with Sesshomaru before. If he was being protective, he was going too far. "I know he will not kill me instantly because he needs me to find the jewel. Father and I were the only ones who knew where it was. How he found out about the jewel, I haven't a clue. There is nothing you can do about this Sesshomaru; it was my choice to tell the humans as well as Inuyasha! They can probably help us if-"

"-Humans helping us?" Sesshomaru interrupted. "You leave the humans out of this! This is only between you, Inuyasha and myself, and that is the way it was meant to be." Sesshomaru turned his back to Asaki. He did not want to fight with his sister anymore. Although he felt her decisions were reckless, she was right; he could do nothing about them.

Asaki gave up trying to argue her point. The stubborn traits of their father were definitely a dominant gene that all of them seemed to inherit. Asaki still did not understand why Sesshomaru thought this was such a major issue. The humans did not look as if they would automatically tell the enemy everything they had heard! Did Sesshomaru really hate humans this much? Or was there something else he was beginning to worry about?

"So what will you do, Asaki?" Sesshomaru asked her finally. He still did not take his eyes off the horizon to look at his sister.

"I must find it and destroy the poisoned jewel before Naraku finds it. I…I will-"

_"Bring it to me Asaki. Bring me the jewel **now."**_

Asaki stopped in the middle of her words. The voice of that evil demon man had returned! If she disobeyed it right there and then, she would get wounded like last time from the bracelet! Asaki wanted to get rid of the bracelet without the help of her brothers, so it was best Sesshomaru did not find out about it either.

Sesshomaru turned to face his sister, wondering what was taking her to respond to his question. He saw a faint look of surprise and fear on her face. "Asaki? What is the matter?" He asked.

"Oh…nothing. It's nothing." Asaki jumped off the fallen log and walked towards Sesshomaru. "There is no time to waste. I have to go and find it immediately." She told him quickly.

"You shouldn't go Asaki. You will become weaker if you get closer to it. There must be another way that won't get you hurt." Sesshomaru looked down at his sister with slight sympathy on his emotionless face. Asaki avoided his gaze.

"There is no other way. I will be fine Sesshomaru." She smiled weakly. "I must go alone though."

**Author's Note: Ha! I'm slowly breaking free of my cliff hanger curse, but it's still pretty suspenseful! I bet you didn't see that coming! What did you all think of the twist I put in? I assure you it will get much more interesting in the next two chapters!I'm so sorry it took so long to update this one, but I had the worst case of writer's block mixed with a lot of school stuff and problems at home. I had to leave my beloved computer for a few days because my grandma was ill in the hospital. She's getting better though. I posted another fanfic earlier, but I should've posted this because it did not get as much praise at this one did! Meh, oh well! I might update the other one later, but I don't really have many ideas for finishing it. If you have any ideas, please put them in a review! I will try and update this one again soon. Please review! Reviews make my day and give me more inspiration to write! I warmly accept reviews, flames, questions, comments etc. Ok, not much more to say that's important. Thanks for reading and please, PLEASE review!**

**-Emily **


	10. Chapter Ten: Questions

**Disclaimer:** Silly Disclaimers I have none. Straightforward: I don't own Inuyasha! (I own his sissie though! Muah-hahaha!)

**A/N: Terribly sorry for the wait! Many apologies from myself. I wanted to update this long ago, it's a long story why it never got updated and frankly, I think it would be better off to spare you from my excuses! I hope you haven't all lost faith in me! Well, here is the next chapter, please review!**

Summary of Story so Far: Sesshomaru finally tells Inuyasha about a secret sibling he had, yet could never be woken up. His sister, Asaki was under a powerful curse that had kept her asleep for a total of three hundred years. With a bit of Inuyasha's help, Sesshomaru was finally able to break the curse and free Asaki. Unfortunately, when Naraku found out about the sibling, he stole her away and put a suspicious piece of gold around her left wrist. The band around her wrist somehow makes deep slash wounds appear on Asaki if she does not obey Naraku's command. His first command to her was: she must retrieve the poisoned jewel. A sister jewel to the Shikon no Tama that drains all energy and power. Somehow, Naraku knows that Asaki was the only one who can find it, since she had protected it three hundred years ago…

Chapter Ten: Questions

_FlashBack_

"Asaki? Asaki where are you?" The distressed child demon called out for his sister in the dark. His golden eyes anxiously scowered the surrounding woods for anything that might attack him. The forest at night was a scary thing for the demon child. His iridescent eyes did not yet possess the ability to see at night, therefore he was afraid.

Blindly attempting to find his sister, the small demon flailed his clawed fingers about wildly, trying to find his way around the thick brush and tree trunks. A bush had entangled with his silver mane, causing him to panic more.

_"Stay where you are, Sesshomaru, I will come for you."_ A voice came from the surrounding darkness. The child demon instantly recognized the calming voice.

"But where are you, Asaki! I'm scared…" he called out to her again.

_"I'm not far, but the jewel is with me. It is dangerous for you to come closer, so just stay where you are and I will come and get you."_

Quickly obeying his sister, he loosened his hair from the brush and found a tree to climb into. He jumped to the tallest branch, and huddled into a ball. He clutched his knees and shut his eyes tight. _"She will come and get me soon…"_ he reassured himself. Sesshomaru was not yet used to being alone in the forest. He had been warned by his father that many hungry demons live in the forest, and he was not to go wandering off without him or Asaki.

But that night was different. Sesshomaru snuck off in the middle of the night to see his sister. He was beginning to regret ever taking his father's warnings for granted. The forest was so ominous; anything could have been watching him at that moment, ready to pounce.

Sesshomaru's tiny pointed ears suddenly perked up. Although his demon senses had not fully grown in yet, he could still hear something coming in the distance. What ever was coming was moving quickly.

Sesshomaru cowered, burying his pale face into his knees. But after a brief moment, he thought, _"This is my chance! If I can be brave right now and face whatever is coming, sister and father will be so proud of me!"_ Gathering up all the courage in his little body, he silently jumped down from his perch, landing crouched on his two feet.

He stood up and watched the dark skies above him, and listened for any unnatural movement in the trees. It was quiet but for the wind that brushed through the trees. Sesshomaru began to feel his legs buckle and grow weaker, but he stayed in his spot on the ground and waited for whatever was coming.

He did not have a sword; his father was teaching him to use his claws in battle. He flexed his fingers, readying the sharp, bladed tips for an attack. His heart began to race faster, as the growing suspense filled his blood with adrenaline. He was getting excited to endure his first battle, but he was getting scared as well.

The wind suddenly began to pick up, unnaturally fast. He heard something coming up from behind him. He turned around quickly and lunged at whatever it was.

It was only to his embarrassment later, that he realized he had jumped on top of a small rabbit. He quickly jumped up from the ground, brushing himself off in an annoyed fashion, as the frightened bunny ran away in fear of the child demon. Sesshomaru was just grateful nothing had seen him try something so foolish until…

A low chuckle came from somewhere in the darkness of the trees. Sesshomaru searched frantically for the owner of the voice, but he could see nothing.

"Having fun frightening the animals?" A cold, wry voice asked him.

"Who's there! I demand to know who is speaking to me!" Sesshomaru asked the voice defiantly, resisting the temptation to cower and run.

The voice only chuckled once more. "You must be the son of Inu Taishou, I presume? What a pleasure. I will remember your name the day I kill your father in battle…" the voice drawled with slight menace and entertainment.

Sesshomaru growled. "How dare you speak of my father like that! Come and face me so I can fight you!" He flexed his claws angrily, but the voice was only more amused at his anger.

"I am sorry young prince, but you see I have more _important_ business to attend to…" the voice was silent momentarily. "I shall tell your sister you said hello.." The voice was beginning to grow faint as if it were moving farther away from Sesshomaru.

"Wait! Come and fight me!" Sesshomaru yelled, blindly flinging his arms about to find the owner of the voice, but only more trees and brush.

"Perhaps later, I've made a little meeting with your sister and a little something she possesses…" The voice was even farther away now.

Sesshomaru was in a panic. He didn't even know what the entity looked like, and now it was after his sister! How did this _thing_ know about their family? It didn't matter at the moment, he had to warn Asaki; and quickly.

"ASAKI!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, "ASAKI, WATCH OUT! ASAKI!" In a panic, Sesshomaru decided to run and get his father's help. He knew he would be in trouble, but he did not want anything to happen to his older sister.

Sesshomaru began to run in the direction of home, when a faint noise stopped him dead in his tracks. His heart was racing faster than it had ever been in his life. The noise he heard sent cold shivers down his spine.

A loud, tortured, blood-curdling scream echoed through the darkness of the woods. It filled Sesshomaru's ears, making him clap his hands to them in agony. He recognized the voice to which the scream belonged to…

"Asaki…."

_End Flashback_

Sesshomaru awoke with a start. He found himself lying on a tree branch, being soaked in the rich colours of the evening light. He looked below to find two sleeping figures at the foot of the tree. Sesshomaru took a quick inhale, letting his tense body relax. It was only a dream.

Ever since the return of his sister, which had not been very long, he had been having dreams of his childhood. Not the good times of his childhood either; the times in which he wanted most to forget were popping up back into his mind every night. Why? He had yet to find out.

The dream he had just moments ago, was so far the worst. That memory felt like poison every second he thought of it. It was the day he had failed his sister and let the beast from the forest hurt her. If it hadn't been for himself, Asaki could have been saved from a fate worse than death.

Before letting himself succumb to the overwhelming sense of guilt in his stomach, he silently jumped out of the tree onto the dew laden grass. Double checking that the little girl and the small imp were still asleep, he began to run at a fast pace. Running and killing were the only things that could cure him of his vain emotions.

"He's been so quiet lately, I wonder what he's thinking about," Shippo wondered aloud to his friends in between heaping mouthfuls of stew.

"Is it not obvious?" Miroku sighed, "If I had found out I had a long lost sister, and then see her being kidnapped in front of my eyes, I would be silent for months!" Miroku looked up from his bowl at Kagome, but she was silent.

Kagome sat, not touching her bowl of stew. Instead, she stared at the red figure sitting atop a roof in the distance. He hadn't moved from that same spot since that morning. He had only spoken once to tell them that Asaki had left. Kagome wondered what was going through his mind.

"Now there is a more important matter to think about," Sango sighed in frustration. "Does this _other_ jewel Asaki talks of even exist? And if it does…How come we have never heard of it?"

"And how come Naraku hasn't found it yet? He's usually the first to find the jewel shards and stuff like that," Shippo piped in. Sango and Miroku sat back in silence, thinking intensely for an answer to Shippo's question. After a long while of intensive thinking, they could not come to a conclusion and sat back in defeat.

"There are just too many questions right now with no answers," Miroku deduced. "We must find the answers before any one else does though. But how?"

The wind began to pick up, wafting the flames of the fire that burned bright in the middle of their circle. The wind carried the first of the fallen autumn leaves, as they began to dance around the livid flames. The sun had almost set over the horizon, as twilight embarked the surrounding area.

The cool night was peaceful, but restlessness began to overwhelm the group. Kagome even wondered whether any of them would be able to sleep that night. New anxieties over their safety were increasing rapidly, and more questions were swimming wildly through each vivid mind.

"How? The only one who knows the answers to some of our questions is Asaki." Kagome finally said. An air of depression flowed through her words.

"Asaki is off to find this "poisoned jewel" right now. It would be difficult to find her. And dangerous…" Miroku contemplated.

"Are you saying we should go find Asaki and ask her?" Shippo asked, his emerald eyes shifting quickly to each person in the circle.

"It's too dangerous!" a voice shouted angrily at them. They turned in Kagome's direction to see a heated, silver-haired boy standing with arms crossed behind Kagome. "You'll only be going if you have a death wish!"

"Inuyasha! Don't sneak up on us like that!" Kagome protested, standing up to face him. "We never said we would! It was just a suggestion…"

"A suggestion for what?" He looked around the circle.

"We need to know some answers. We need to know some things about this other jewel. And your sister is the only one with the answers." Miroku told him calmly, but it did nothing to help Inuyasha's growing temper.

"Keh! You can wait 'till she comes back then!"

"Aren't you worried about her, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked him. "She could be in trouble right now! And besides…what I want to know is why she hasn't done anything about the jewel until now. Why is she in such a rush to find the jewel _now_?"

Inuyasha was silent. Of course he was worried for her! The whole day, all he could think about was how Asaki was doing. And with Naraku on the loose, she could easily be taken advantage of and be at the hands of his most hated enemy! But she told him that she had to do it alone. Nobody else could come with him…

"Of course I'm worried Kagome! But do you think there is anything I can do!" he yelled finally into Kagome's face.

Miroku and Sango got up from their spots. "This is important Inuyasha. We need to know the answers before something happens that we cannot prevent." Sango said.

"Like what?" Inuyasha stared at them.

Sango opened her mouth to reply, when she, Miroku and Inuyasha noticed something change in the air. The wind moved rapidly. It was unnaturally fast. Something was coming.

Inuyasha grew on edge. He smelled a familiar scent in the air that whipped by them, causing him to growl deeply.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, alarmed. She quickly scooped up the frightened kitsune and ran behind Inuyasha.

"He's back…"

**A/N: Finished! I'M FINISHED THE 10TH CHAPTER! You wouldn't believe how many cappuccinos and caffeine-filled items it took her me to finish! I apologize for the wait, and the fact that it is a bit run-on and boring in a couple of places. But the next chapter will come more quickly, and better! I just had to finish this one! Sorry for the cliffy. Thank you all for your reviews! I'll make comments on them later, but I have to finish homework now. If you need to know any recent news from myself about my stories, take a look at my profile, or email me. Please review! I love you all! 'Till next time then!**


	11. Chapter Eleven: Hiding Place

**Disclaimer:** It's so tempting to say I own Inuyasha, but out of truthfulness, I don't. (Such a sob story, eh?)

**A/N: Exams are over (what a relief) and all my time for summer is dedicated to my stories and my friends! I have lots of time now with nothing to do but write for the next couple of weeks. I'm so sorry you all had to wait for this update. I was so tempted to keep writing this while studying, but if I were to do so, I wouldn't have been able to keep focused on the subjects I needed more attention in. Well, enough of the school talk! Here is the much anticipated chapter eleven! Please review all who haven't. I was very glad to see I'm so far on the favourite list of 9 people so far. My thanks to all who reads my stories! I hope you all enjoy!

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Chapter Eleven: Reason for Secrets

"Who's back, Inuyasha?" Shippo asked worriedly, hopping into Kagome's arms for protection.

"Naraku…" Inuyasha growled. His hand was itching to grasp the handle of his infamous sword, but he fought off the urges to wait for the opportune moment to strike when Naraku was in reach to attack. Fighting back the urges to unleash Tetsusaiga, he instead balled his fists tightly, bit his lip, and waited for Naraku to approach. His scent was coming closer to them by the second; no doubt he was coming to Inuyasha and the others.

Kagome, with Shippo on her shoulder ran behind Inuyasha, as a sudden figure cloaked in the darkness of the night appeared from behind the trees. The figure did not run, but seemed to hover inches above the ground. It moved so quickly, that it was barely recognizable. If Inuyasha hadn't muttered his name, nobody would have realized it was Naraku until the last moment. Something was wrong though. If Naraku was coming, why hadn't Kagome sense any jewel shards?

The white blurred image halted to a quick stop, nose-to-nose with Inuyasha. His tall stature towered over him, but the robe of white baboon fur made him look somewhat comical. The evil glare of gray eyes with a hint of malicious amusement in them poured into Inuyasha's revengeful golden ones.

"What do you want?" Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. He restricted himself from plunging his claws into Naraku and pulling out his throat. His fingers twitched closer to the handle of his sword.

The man under the baboon suit only grinned at Inuyasha's grimace. "I'm just _dying_ to know whether you know about that _present_ yet…" The raspy voice said through the mask of the baboon head.

"Present? What present?" Inuyasha demanded, now gripping the sword's handle tightly. He quickly glanced around to Kagome, Shippo, Sango and Miroku behind him, who all were as clueless as he was.

"Don't tell me your own sister did not tell you… Your very own sister won't even tell you when she is in need of assistance? This is turning out to be quite the dilemma for her." Naraku chuckled in the back of his throat, only increasing Inuyasha's urge to shred him and that cloak to confetti.

"What the hell are you talking about! What did you do to Asaki!" Inuyasha yelled into his face. This only amused Naraku more.

"Calm yourself, Inuyasha. It is not what I did to her, but what she is doing to herself," he riddled. "She simply will not follow my commands; therefore, she gets hurt of her own accord." Naraku grinned wider as he saw Inuyasha's patience wear and his temper begin to boil. He could tell that Inuyasha was confused at his words, which made him even angrier.

"I don't have time for your damn riddles! You bastard…TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO HER!" Not being able to control the urge any longer, Inuyasha quickly stepped back and pulled the sword from its sheath. He pointed the tip of the blade threateningly close to Naraku's neck.

Naraku did not flinch, nor did he take any notice to the large sword under his nose. The evil grin was quickly wiped clean from his face. He knew he had limited time before Inuyasha lost control, for his temper was not always wise to meddle with.

"Do not be so impatient Inuyasha; besides, it is not my responsibility to tell you. Perhaps Asaki can tell you. Next time you see her, ask her about that lovely bracelet on her wrist…"

Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat. Asaki _was_ wearing a gold bracelet the last time he saw her!

_Flashback_

Inuyasha certainly had not remembered anything that tight on her wrist before Naraku had taken her. Her skin underneath the band of gold seemed puckered and almost losing circulation.

"What's that?" Inuyasha asked Asaki, pointing towards the band of gold on her left wrist.

"Oh…Nothing, it's….nothing. Just a bracelet. I've never been able to take it off."

_End Flashback_

She lied? Asaki lied to Inuyasha about that thing on her wrist? But what was it doing to her, and why did she refuse to tell Inuyasha about it! Inuyasha was outraged that his sister kept that from him.

"I'll ask you one last time before I send you to your fate," he muttered, shaking from anger, "Tell me what you've done! What does that _thing_ do to her!" He readied his stance for an attack.

"I already told you, it is not my responsibility to tell you. It is your sister's for not telling you first."

Inuyasha growled viscously at Naraku. He had had enough now. If Naraku wasn't going to tell him anything useful, he might as well be dead. He lunged toward the figure in the baboon cape, and plunged the tip of the blade into his chest.

A sudden cloud of violet vapour escaped from the furry disguise. Inuyasha instantly realized he had been talking to one of Naraku's puppets all along! How could he have not noticed? He mentally kicked himself for not realizing it sooner.

The group covered their face and waited for the cloud of vapour to subside. As soon as the clouds of violet smoke disappeared, they found the only thing left of the puppet was a wooden doll with a black hair tied around it.

Still in fits of confusion and fury, Inuyasha turned to others who stood dazed behind him.

"We can't waste any time! We have to go find Asaki!"

* * *

Sesshomaru strode out of the woods, walking around the inanimate bodies of demons on the ground that he had just previously slain. Although killing weak demons such as those were usually what he needed to calm his nerves, tonight there was no such relief. Tonight, his mind was filled to the brim with anxiety—an emotion that Sesshomaru was not accustomed to. The only one he had ever worried about like this was Rin; but Rin was always by his side so he could keep an eye on her at any time. Asaki was off on her own, vulnerable and unprotected.

Sesshomaru glanced at the evening sky above the tree tops. The sun had completely set, letting the crescent moon shine, and the bright stars glimmer down upon the earth. He remembered how it was exactly the same the night when Asaki lost many of her demonic powers. Not a cloud hid a single star that night, nor did any chill kiss the ground with frost. The night was perfect, although it revived many vivid memories that ought to be forgotten.

Rendering himself hopeless to be free from this loathing emotion, he gave up killing demons and began to walk back in the direction of where Rin and Jaken had fallen asleep. It was a hopeless case to be free from anxiety when Asaki was somewhere out in Japan, possibly in trouble and he couldn't do anything about it. She forbade him to come and help her, and considering what happened in the past, Sesshomaru knew what would come if he came to help her.

But even with the words of his sister still ringing through his memory, Sesshomaru couldn't help but feel slightly curious to where Asaki and father hid the jewel all this time without someone or something finding it. Was it still hidden? Did it even still exist? It had been three centuries since it had last been mentioned. Suddenly, a horrid, livid thought appeared in Sesshomaru's mind.

How did Naraku know about Asaki and the jewel? They were both before Naraku's time! Not even the founder of Naraku's body, Onigumo had been born yet! If Naraku knew about all of this, what other secrets did he know about? Asaki was really in trouble now with that wretched demon on the loose.

Sesshomaru stopped walking to think for a moment. Even if it was dangerous to follow Asaki right now, he had to get to her before Naraku or anyone else could get to her. No matter what the risk, Asaki had to be safe or Sesshomaru would regret it.

Making up his mind, he turned and began running the other way. He ignored his sister's previous warning about not following her.

_"Asaki, you better be safe. I can't sit around and wait for you to be hurt…"

* * *

_

"Naraku, what was the purpose of telling Inuyasha about Asaki?" Kagura asked her master as the two watched Inuyasha and the group depart from the village through Kanna's mirror.

Naraku sat hidden in the shadows. He suppressed a low chuckle to Kagura's question. "This is all part of my plan Kagura."

"What is this plan? And how will it work if Inuyasha figures out about his sister?" Kagura tapped her fan impatiently on the window pane she stared out of.

"Patience, you will see in time. If I gave it all away here and now, it would not be as fun to see Inuyasha and Sesshomaru suffer, now would it?" Naraku stood up from the dark corner and came into the moonlit part of the room. He walked closer to Kanna and Kagura.

"Besides, even if Inuyasha knew about it, the bracelet cannot be removed unless Asaki fulfills my requests. He and his brother are virtually helpless. There is nothing that they can do." Naraku gave yet another low chuckle as he mentally admired his plans. "One by one, the off spring of Inu Taishou will cease to be anything but a memory."

Kagura raised a brow at her master's comment. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were of the most powerful demons—be it full youkai or hanyou—that she had ever seen. Asaki was an easy target, but her brothers were somewhat questionable. How would Naraku do this? If Naraku would ever have the poisoned jewel in his possession, then maybe it was possible…

"Kanna," Naraku commanded.

"Yes my lord?" Kanna replied quietly.

"Show me Asaki," he said. Kanna bowed her head, as an image appeared in the silver mirror that rested on her lap. Naraku sat down across from Kanna and peered into the mirror. Kagura curiously cocked her head to get a view of the vision in Kanna's mirror.

"Good, so she _is_ going to get it after all. This should get interesting…" Naraku watched inventively as a young, silver-haired girl came into focus. Naraku was deeply interested as to where to jewel was hidden.

* * *

Asaki knew it was close now; the force of the jewel was getting stronger. Asaki would definitely find it before the sun would rise. It was not far from where she was.

Asaki was walking amidst a deep and misty bog. The bog was old, and the air possessed a mysterious aura to it. A certain kind of aura that would make one wonder what sort of happenings were held in this bog long ago. It was enough to make Asaki feel uneasy about the whole ordeal even more. She couldn't help but feel a bit frightened being there in the first place.

The last time she had been in this particular bog, it was the last time she had seen the jewel. That time, she was with her father, and she still possessed all her full demonic powers. Being back in such a distrustful place with no protection was somewhat unnerving. Her father had told her many stories of evil demons living in that bog before, and Asaki did not want to find out if his stories were true or not.

The night air was quiet. Not a single cricket chirp or croak of a frog could be heard, even with a demon's delicate sense of hearing. Although the weather was not humid, a light fog covered the soggy ground. The whole atmosphere was becoming quite unnerving.

After walking around the bog for a bit, she noticed a familiar spot. One large, round pool of water lay amidst the trees and marsh. It reflected the moonlight on its undisturbed, glass-like surface. Asaki was astonished at the fact that this pool had not changed one bit since the last she had seen it. It was remarkable to see a body of water untouched for three centuries. But then again, when a pool of water like this held many secrets of the past, it was not all that surprising.

Asaki took in a large breath to calm herself. This would be the time. She would get the jewel back and destroy it before that vulgar demon got his filthy hands onto it. No matter what the cost may be, Asaki made up her mind to finish the cursed thing off until it would be nothing but a memory.

Taking in another deep breath, Asaki took a step into the water. The surface was barely disturbed, even as she took more steps into the dark waters. Asaki's white silk kimono was already getting wet, but she ignored it and kept moving further and further into the water. She stopped when she became immersed to her waist in the water. Asaki filled her lungs with air and pulled the rest of her body down into the depths of the cold water.

She was not able to see for a moment or two, but then the bottom was visible. The body of water went in much deeper further ahead. So deep, that an underwater cave lay far beneath its surface. That was the location that Asaki was looking for.

Without a moment to spare, Asaki swam below the surface and towards the underwater cavern.

Unfortunately, before Asaki went into the water, she was unaware of the people watching her every move from behind the trunk of a tree.

* * *

"What is she doing?" Inuyasha whispered as the group watched his sister plunge into the unusual-looking pond.

Kagome shrugged, as did everyone else who was watching. "I have no clue. What would she be trying to do, swimming in the middle of the night in a swamp?" Each of them watched intently, waiting for Asaki to resurface from going underneath the water. But to their surprise, she did not come back up!

"Umm…Inuyasha, do you think she is drowning?" Shippo asked him worriedly.

"Don't be stupid Shippo, demons don't drown." But Inuyasha contradicted himself when he still did not see her come up. This was beginning to worry him.

"Are you sure she's alright? Don't demons need to breathe?" Sango asked. But before anyone could answer her question, Inuyasha dashed off quickly to the water.

Inuyasha waded himself into it, then began searching the area for Asaki. He hesitated at first to stick his head in, but eventually wound up doing so. He instantly spotted the cavern under the water, for there was a glowing purple light emitting from the cave's entrance.

"Hey guys!" Inuyasha spluttered after pulling his now soaking mane out of the water, "There is some kind of cave down there. I think we should go check it out!" Before any of them replied, he went back down into the water.

"Umm, let's not," Kagome said wearily, "I'm not sure this place is safe. It's giving me the creeps!" Shippo agreed with Kagome.

"But Asaki is down there, and you said yourself that we needed to ask her some questions, right?" Miroku tried swaying Kagome's decision.

Kagome finally agreed. So Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kagome and Kilala followed Inuyasha into the water and began swimming down towards the cave.

* * *

It was close. Sesshomaru could smell it; the place that had been forbidden by both father and Asaki to ever go near. This would be the night that he would find out what lay in the forbidden bog. He of course knew the jewel was hidden somewhere in there, but that was the least of his growing worries.

He walked through the bog, following Asaki's scent. He came across the pool of water she had gone into earlier, when he came across another disturbing smell. Inuyasha and his gang of humans were there as well. Did they come with Asaki, or did they follow her? Either way, he would punish Inuyasha for it. The thought of him being with his sister raised his temper.

Sesshomaru strode into the water, becoming ankle deep in the water. He was slightly confused. How could Asaki get the jewel from a pond?

"You look simply baffled," a malicious voice told him from behind. Sesshomaru turned around to see none other than Naraku staring him into the face.

Sesshomaru sneered at him. "What do you want with me now? Do you wish for an early grave?"

Naraku chuckled, "Perhaps. I wish to know whether Asaki told _you_ or not about her little _secret_."

"Don't play games. What are you talking about?" Sesshomaru's temper rose even higher with every second of that pathetic excuse for a demon being present.

"She didn't? How surprising! She did not tell even one of her brothers!" Naraku grinned.

"You will tell me this "secret" or you will tell me your death wish," Sesshomaru threatened calmly, flexing his claws that instantly glowed green.

"Why don't you ask Asaki? She is down in that cave, under the water," Naraku pointed to a faint purple glow coming from the bottom of the pond. Sesshomaru looked back quickly. He turned around again to find Naraku missing.

Sesshomaru wanted to go search for the vile creature and rip him to pieces, but he instead stopped and turned back around to the pool of water. He would go kill Naraku later, but right now, he would get to Asaki and ask her about this "secret" of hers.

Not wasting a second, he swam into the water, following the violet glow.

* * *

**A/N: It feels good to get this chapter done! My exams are over (thanks to everyone who wished me well!) and I am doing quite a lot of writing on the computer now! I am really sorry again for the wait! I really hope you enjoy my stories! Be aware that probably in the next 5 or so chapters, it will be finished. Please review now! Constructive criticism would be great, as I am hoping to increase my grammatical/literary skills. Any flames, comments, questions, etc. please give me your thoughts! Chapter 12 will be updated shortly! **


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